^-— ^^^'^'^''^  ADVERTISEMENT. 


I 


GIFT  OF 
Prof.  E.J.\Uckson 


v^ 


V>a;N  LI13RARY-AGKICUT-TUWE  DErT 


m^ 


ters, 


[AVE 


3litmbits, 
Minx. — 


O 

LOTTIsviLLir,  itT.=-Dut  Ell  comffiuiiications  snouia  be  addressed  to 

DUANE   H.    NASH, 

SOLE  MANUFACTURER. 
MILLINGTON,  MORRIS  COUNTY,  N.  J. 


^%^c: 


^-''c^--^/ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/cultureoffarmcroOOstewrich 


THE  CULTURE 

OF 

Farm  Crops. 

^  iEanual 

OF    THE 

SCIENCE  OF  AGRICULTURE, 

AND    A 

HAND-BOOK     OF    PRACTICE 

FOR 

AMERICAN    FARMERS. 


By  HENEY  STEWART, 

Author  of 
'  Tho  Shepherd's  Manual,"   "  Irrig'ation  for  the  Farm,  Orchard  and  Gard 
Civil  Mining'  and  Agricultural  Engineer. 
Member  of  the  Western  Society  of  Engineers. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

DUANE     H.     NAS 
MiLLiNGTON,  Morris  County,  New 
1887. 


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MAHI I  illiil"''  '^1 — •"  •^'*^*' 


Entered,-  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1887,  by 

DUANE  H.  NASH, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


i-.. 


<^TSBLE  OF  CONTENTS.^ 


PART    FIRST 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER    I. 

The  Culture  of  Farm  Crops 7—11 

CHAPTER    II. 
Kinds  and  Condition  of  matter 12—15 

CHAPTER    III. 
Carbon.    Its  Properties  and  Relations  to  Vegetable  Life 16—20 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Oxygen.    Its  Properties  and  Relations  to  Life 21—27 

CHAPTER    V. 
Hydrogen  and  Nitrogen.    Their  Compounds  and  Relations  to 

\egetable  Growth 2*— 32 

CHAPTER    VI. 
Combinations  of  Organic  Substances 3S— 39 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Atmosphere 40 — 44 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Water.    Its  Relations  to  Vegetable  Life 45 — 51 

CHAPTER    IX. 
Heat  and  Cold,    Their  Influence  upon  Matter  and  Vegetation 52 — 59 

CHAPTER    X. 
Carbonic  Acid.    Its  Properties  and  Functions  in  Plant  Growth 60—64 

CHAPTER    XL 
Nitric  Acid.    Its  Composition  and  Uses  in  the  Growth  of  Crops 65 — 69 

CHAPTER    XII. 
Ammonia.    Its  Composition,  Properties  and  Relations  to  Vege- 
table Growth 70—77 


r)2i]<}U2 


4     .  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Sources  of  the  Carbon  of  Plants * 78—83: 

CHIPTER  XIV. 
Sources  of  the  Nitrogen  of  Plants 84—92. 


PART    SECOND. 

CHAPTER    XV. 
Inorganic  Elements  of  Plant  Growth ♦ 93—98 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
The  Ash  of  Plants  and  its  Composition 99—106. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Compounds  of  the  Inorganic  Elements  of  Plants 107—118 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
The  Soil.    Its  Composition 119—122. 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
The  Rocks.    Their  Composition  and  Relations  to  the  Soil 123— 12a 

CHAPTER    XX. 
Physical  Properties  of  the  Soil 130— 14a 

PART    THIRD. 

CHAPTER    XXI. 
Exhaustion  of  the  Soil 144—154 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
Mechanical  Improvement  of  Soils 155—166 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 
How  to  Drain  Land 167—172 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 
Irrigation  of  Farm  Crops 173—177 

CHAPTER    XXV. 
Plowing.    Its  Purposes  and  Results 178 -18a 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
Harrowing.    Its  Effects  upon  the  Soil  and  Relation  to  the 

Growth  of  Crops 184— 18T 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Cultivating.    Its  EflFects  upon  the  Soil  and  the  Growth  of  Crops 188—191 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
Manures.    Their  Mechanical  Effects  upon  the  Soil 192—195 


CONTENTS.  5 

PART    FOURTH^ 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Improvement  of  the  Soil  by  Chemical  Means.    Animal  Manures 196—202 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
Vegetable  Manures 20:3—208 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 
Composts 209—212 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

Mineral  Manures 213—223 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
Manufactured  Manures 224—233 


PART    FIFTH. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
The  Structure  and  Growth  of  Plants 234—240 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
The  Functions  of  the  Roots 241—245 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
The  Functionsof  the  Stems .• 24&— 248 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
Ihe  Functionsof  the  Leaves : 249—252 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
The  Functions  of  the  Flower 253—257 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

The  Fruit ;  its  Formation  and  its  Characteristics 258 — 263 

CHAPTER    XL. 
Improvement  of  Plants  by  Breeding  and  Crossing 264—270 

PART    SIXTH. 

CHAPTER    XLI. 
The  Culture  of  Farm  Crops 271—273 

CHAPTER    XLII. 
Implements  of  Tillage 274 — 277 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 
The  Rotation  of  Crops 278—281 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XLIV. 
Grass 282—285 

CHAPTER    XLV. 
Fodder  and  Soiling  Crops 286—292 

CHAPTER    XLVI. 

Grain  Crops 293—303 

CHAPTER    XLVII. 

Root  Crops 304—307 

CHAPTER    XLVIII. 
Textile  Crops 308—311 

CHAPTER    XLIX. 

Culture  of  Tobacco 312—316 

CHAPTER    L. 

Special  Crops 317—327 

Appendix 328—329 

Index 3b0— 334 


The  Culture  of  Farm  Crops. 

PART      FIRST. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    ART    OF    AGRICULTURE.— IMPORTANCE    OF   A 
KNOWLEDGE  OF  ITS  PRINCIPLES. 

No  farmer  can  be  successful  in  the  pursuit  of  his  indus- 
try without  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  upon  which  the 
practice  of  it  is  founded.  Every  work  of  the  farm  has  more 
or  less  of  mystery  attached  to  it.  No  other  art,  among  all 
the  industries  of  the  human  race  is  so  intricate  or  has  so 
many  varying  conditions  and  circumstances  environing  and 
affecting  it.  The  soil,  the  season,  the  character  of  the  plants 
grown,  the  time  and  manner  of  their  cultivation;  the  air, 
water  and  mineral  matters  which  furnish  them  with  food; 
and  many  other  things  related  to  these;  are  all  involved  in 
an  inextricable  maze  and  mystery  to  the  farmer  who  knows 
nothing  of  them  or  their  relations  to  and  reactions  upon 
each  other.  But  these  mysteries  are  unfolded  in  the  most 
beautiful  and  interesting  manner,  and  the  laws  which  re- 
late to  the  growth  of  plants  are  seen  to  form  a  system 
which  gradually  developes — as  the  farmer  progresses  in  this 
study — into  form  and  method  from  w^hich  rules  may  be  laid 
down  for  his  guidance;  or  from  which  he  may  form  his  own 
rules  and  practice  as  any  emergency  may  arise. 

When  principles  are  known  and  understood,  one  may 
form  his  own  practice.  Otherwise  he  is  the  slave  and  the 
victim  to  the  innumerable  accidents  which  befall  him  in 
the  various  operations  of  the  farm,  which  are  controlled  in 


8  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

a  great  measure  by  the  qualities  and  characters  of  differ- 
ent soils;  by  temperature,  moisture,  the  action  of  the  var- 
ious manures  and  fertilizers — not  only  upon  the  soil  and  the 
crops,  but  upon  each  other — the  habits  of  the  plants,  and 
the  vicissitudes  of  the  season.  But  when  the  farmer  has  a 
sufficient  knowledge  of  these  and  of  the  laws  which  con- 
trol their  action,  he  is  able  to  guide  himself  through  the 
labyrinth,  just  as  the  sailor  steers  his  ship  safely  among 
the  rocks  and  shoals  which  environ  his  desired  port,  by  the 
aid  of  the  chart  which  lies  before  him,  and  his  knowledge 
of  the  currents  which  sweep  about  them.  For  a  farmer  to 
succeed,  and  grow  large  crops,  without  this  knowledge  of 
his  art,  is  as  impossible  as  for  the  sailor  to  reach  his  port  in 
darkness,  without  a  compass  or  a  chart,  and  wholly  ignor- 
ant of  his  bearings,  and  the  obstacles  in  his  w^ay.  That  so 
few  farmers  wholly  fail  in  their  business  is  a  proof  not  to 
the  contrary  of  this,  but  to  the  rich  rewards  which  the  pro- 
lific soil  offers  to  man's  labor  and  industry,  and  of  which  a 
moderate  share  only  is  sufl[icient  for  all  his  needs;  but  the 
whole  of  which  brings  competence  and  wealth  to  the  most 
skillful  and  studious  farmers. 

It  is  about  forty  years  since  agricultural  knowledge  took 
a  scientific  turn,  and  students  began  to  search  for  the  caus- 
es of  the  results  which  they  reached  by  the  slow  process  of 
a  life  long  practical  service  in  the  field.  Then  a  young 
man  had  to  learn  slowly,  day  by  day,  and  year  by  year, 
often  waiting  many  years  to  verify,  through  repeated  con- 
tradictions, any  facts  which  he  learned  by  the  closest  ob- 
servation. All  the  gathered  lore  of  the  most  successful 
farmers  was  then  comprised  in  a  very  few  books,  and  some 
popular  beliefs,  current  only  verbally,  and  handed  from 
one  to  another  amid  dispute  and  contradiction  The  old 
writers  upon  agricultural  topics  merely  repeat  what  they 
learned  from  the  results  of  their  practice;  they  wrote  of 
manures  from  what  they  had  seen  of  the  results  of  their 
use;  but  they  had  no  conception  of  the  fact  that  manures 
supplied  the  cropt  with  certain  elements  which  were  ab- 
sorbed into  their  substance  and  became  a  part  of  them. 


SIMPLICITY   OF   AGRICULTURAL   SCIENCE.  H 

^ot  a  farmer  of  that  day,  nor  a  chemist,  knew  that  bones 
furnished  phosphoric  acid  to  plants;  or  that  gpano  provided 
in  its  ammonia  the  materials  from  which  their  gluten  and 
other  nitrogenous  substances  were  derived.  Indeed  the 
renowned  father  of  agricultural  science:  Liebig — when  he 
propounded  his  mineral  theory,  which  was  that  the  ashes 
of  plants  contained  everything  which  they  drew  from  the 
«oil,  and  that  if  the  mineral  substances  contained  in  the  " 
ashes,  were  supplied  in  sufficient  quantity  to  the  crops, 
there  would  be  scarcely  a  limit  to  the  product,  excepting 
the  space  in  which  they  were  contained — knew  nothing 
about  the  invaluable  nitrogen  which  we  now  know  to  be 
wholly  indispensable  to  plant  growth.  But  light  has  grad- 
ually dawned  upon  us,  and  by  slow  and  sometimes  faltering 
progress,  there  has  been  built  up  a  system  of  agricultural 
science  which  explains  the  laws  of  plant  growth  and  affords 
the  most  important  information  to  the  cultivator  of  the 
soil. 

Science  is  based  upon  fact.  Philosophy  is  based  upon 
speculation.  Science  is  the  outgrowth  of  philosophy,  be- 
cause before  we  can  reach  a  true  knowledge  of  any  fact  we 
must  approach  the  study  of  it  by  a  well  devised  theory, 
changed  as  may  be  necessary,  and  tested  patiently  and 
slowly  until  the  knowledge  sought  is  found.  This  know- 
ledge, when  verified  by  practice,  sufficiently  proved  and 
classified,  becomes  science.  Science  then  is  nothing  for  the 
farmer  to  fear,  or  cast  doubt  and  suspicion  upon.  Theory 
as  has  been  said,  has  no  part  or  lot  in  it;  it  is  a  summary 
of  known  facts,  and  is  therefore  of  the  most  valuable  use 
to  the  farmer  as  it  gives  him  a  sound  basis  upon  which  to 
build  up  such  conclusions  in  regard  to  his  practice  as  will 
enable  him  to  meet  the  various  difficulties  which  are  al- 
ways arising  in  his  work. 

Nor  need  the  farmer  be  afraid  of  science  because  of  any 
difficulty  in  comprehending  it.  Truth  is  very  simple,  and 
is  so  plain  that  he  who  runs  may  read.  And  there  is  noth- 
ing in  agricultural  science,  and  nothing  will  be  oflfered  in 
the  pages  to  follow,  that  would  give  any  difficulty  to  any 


10  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

farmer's  boy,  or  girl  to  understand  and  comprehend,  to  it& 
full  extent. 

Nothing  need  be  said  of  the  importance  of  the  farmers- 
vocation  further  than  as  it  relates  to  his  own  interest. 
While  he  feeds  and  clothes  the  world,  he  is  most  interested 
in  feeding  and  clothing  himself,  and  in  advancing  his  own 
condition  as  far  as  possible.  Society  exists  now  upon  a 
much  higher  base  than  it  did  a  score  of  years  ago.  Edu- 
cation and  intelligence  have  made  necessary  a  much  higher 
civilization,  and  a  more  luxurious  and  less  laborious  living. 
All  this  calls  for  increased  income.  Scientific  skill  in  any 
art  necessarily  increases  the  value  of  the  labor  expended 
and  enhances  the  profits  of  it.  This  is  true  of  agriculture 
as  of  all  other  arts.  Hence  the  farmer  is  compelled  by 
the  general  advance  of  other  industries  to  advance  his  own. 
He  can  only  do  this  by  increasing  the  products  of  his  labor 
by  means  of  more  skillful  work,  and  the  help  of  every  ap- 
pliance. Better  culture,  better  manuring,  better  mechani- 
cal aids  in  the  form  of  improved  implements  and  machinery, 
and  an  economical  division  of  labor,  are  all  indispensable 
to  him.  The  culture  of  farm  crops,  then  becomes  a  most 
important  subject  for  study  and  critical  examination  and 
whatever  in  the  study  can  be  turned  to  practical  use  should 
be  adopted  into  practice.  The  age  is  advancing  in  every 
way;  but  agriculture  lingers  behind,  perhaps  because  of  its- 
vastness  and  the  unavoidable  inertia  and  slow  movement 
of  vast  interests.  But  it  must  advance  with  the  world. 
Mechanical  ingenuity  has  given  it  a  wonderful  impetus  and 
from  the  far  better  hoes  of  the  present  time,  to  the  gigantic 
twelve-wheeled  locomotives  and  the  great  ocean  steam  ships- 
which  are  at  his  service,  the  farmer  is  helped  in  a  thousand 
ways.  Then  he  must  improve  his  own  work  consistently 
and  stand  in  the  front  as  becomes  the  feeder  of  the  world 
and  the  importance  of  his  vocation. 

In  every  other  country  than  ours,  the  vast  importance  of 
agriculture  is  recognized  by  the  general  governments,  and 
the  investigation  of  the  principles  upon  which  the  rational 
practice  of  the  art  is  founded,  is  made  a  prominent  care  of 


THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   AGRICULTURE.  11 

the  state  and  commands  the  principal  attention  of  the  lead- 
ing men.  Here  the  citizen  is  less  closely  iavolved  in  the 
affairs  of  government,  and  looks  after  his  own  class  inter- 
ests himself  An  American  citizen  glories  in  his  indepen- 
dence, but  in  this  case  he  suffers  considerably  as  compared 
with  farmers  in  other  countries.  There  is  then  all  the  more 
need  of  private  and  personal  enterprise  among  farmers. 
American  farmers  are  better  educated,  read  more  and 
are  better  able  to  advance  their  own  interests  by  skillful 
industry  and  untiring  energy  than  any  others.  Hence, 
technical  literature  of  the  highest  class  abounds,  and  agri- 
culture is  well  represented  in  it.  And  these  pages  are  of- 
fered as  a  modest  contribution  of  a  farmer  and  student  to> 
this  literature,  and  to  his  brother  farmers  and  students. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    II. 

kinds'  and  conditions  of   matter.— the   ELE- 
mentary  constituents  of  plants. 

All  matter  in  existence,  presents  itself  to  our  view  in  two 
forms  only.  The  solid  rock,  the  water  of  the  ocean,  the 
atmosphere,  the  plants  which  clothe  the  earth's  surface  and 
the  animals  which  move  over  it;  are  all  formed  of  two  kinds 
of  matter  which  are  called  organic  and  inorganic.  Of  all 
these  everything  which  is  and  has  been  devoid  of  life,  is 
classed  under  the  head  of  inorganic  substances;  while  liv- 
ing bodies  whether  plants  or  animals  or  the  remains  of 
these,  are  classed  as  organic  matter.  There  are  cases  in 
which  the  two  classes  seem  to  approach  very  closely  if  not 
to  mingle;  but  this  is  only  apparently  and  not  in  fact,  for 
the  distinction  between  them  is  broad  and  marked  and 
must  appear  on  a  close  examination.  This  distinction  is  life. 
Anything  which  has  lived,  w^hich  has  performed  any  of  the 
various  functions  of  life  however  simple  and  low  in  char- 
acter these  may  have  been,  is  organic  matter;  and  all  else 
is  inorganic.  Thus  while  the  rocks  and  the  soil  are  classed 
among  inorganic  substances,  yet  the  coal  which  we  find 
imbedded  deep  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  or  the  soft  porous 
sand  or  fine  clay  which  is  known  as  infusorial  earth,  or 
the  limestone  which  is  made  up  of  an  infinite  number  of  the 
skeletons  and  shells  of  microscopic  animals,  are  organic 
substances;  because  the  coal  has  been  formed  from  various 
mosses  and  ferns,  with  the  larger  plants  and  great  trees, 
which  have  lived  and  died  and  fallen  and  have  in  time 
been  buried  under  the  soil  brought  by  vast  floods,  and  have 
formed  the  beds  of  coal  now  lying  under  thousands  of  feet 
in  thickness  of  rocks.  And  the  minute  insects  which  have 
lived  and  died  in  the  primeval  oceans  have  all  been  en- 
dowed with  life ;  although  they  appear  to  the  casual  obser- 


ORGANIC    MATTER.  13^ 

ver  as  mere  stony  or  earthy  matter.  All  organic  matter,, 
shows  on  examination,  a  certain  structure  or,  form  which  is. 
visible  to  the  eye  or  can  be  made  so.  This  structure  is 
either  cellula-r  or  fibrous,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  pores  of 
wood  or  the  fibers  of  various  plants,  and  of  muscular  tissue; 
and  it  serves  to  distinguish  between  these  two  classes  of 
matter. 

But  there  are  many  substances  of  organic  origin  which 
do  not  exhibit  any  observable  trace  of  organized  structure; 
as  sugar,  starch,  gum,  and  yet  these  are  formed  in  plants 
in  great  abundance.  They  do  not  possess  any  cel- 
lular or  fibrous  tissue  and  have  never  possessed  any  organs; 
nevertheless  as  they  are  the  productions  of  living  organized 
bodies,  they  are  included  in  the  general  term  of  organized 
matter.  So  the  ash  of  plants  which  consists  of  mineral 
matter  only;  and  the  decomposed  dust  of  plants  and  ani- 
mals are  recognized  as  organic  matter,  and  as  such,  have  a 
specially  favorable  effect  in  the  soil  upon  the  growth  of 
plants.  So  all  the  ultimate  products  of  organic  matter;  the 
charcoal  made  from  wood,  the  vinegar,  spirit,  and  tar,  also 
derived  from  wood  by  distillation;  and  the  vinegar  and 
alcohol  which  are  produced  by  the  fermentation  of  sugar;, 
are  all  included  in  the  general  term  as  organized  matter. 

The  cells  and  fibers  of  organic  matter  are  in  fact  the  or- 
gans or  instruments  of  life  by  which  the  vital  functions 
are  performed  and  growth  effected.  Thus  the  pores  of 
wood  or  the  cells  of  a  potato  are  centers  of  life,  and  as  will 
be  hereafter  explained,  are  able  to  effect  a  distinct  re- 
productive action;  absorb  nutriment,  grow  and  produce 
organs  like  themselves,  and  so  increase  the  substance  of  the 
plants  of  which  they  form  a  part. 

If  we  take  any  one  of  these  forms  of  matter  of  either 
class,  excepting  comparatively  a  few,  and  subject  it  to  cer- 
tain chemical  processes  we  shall  find  that  it  is  resolved  or 
separated  into  more  than  one,  or  several  substances,  as  the 
case  may  be.  Thus  a  piece  of  limestone  subjected  to  heat 
— which  is  a  chemical  process — undergoes  a  very  consid- 
erable change  by  the  separation  of  its  component  parts ; 


14  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM    CROPS. 

carbonic  acid  and  lime ;  and  these  by  further  process,  but 
much  more  difficult,  can  be  separated  into  carbon  and 
oxygen  and  the  metal  calcium  and  oxygen.  If  an  attempt 
is  made  to  separate  or  resolve  these  further,  it  is  fruitless 
and  we  find  these  substances  remain  unchangeable  under 
every  known  chemical  process ;  and  they  remain,  carbon 
and  oxygen  and  calcium.  These  ultimate  unchangeable 
substances,  are  called  elementary  bodies ;  and  those  which 
are  formed  by  the  union  of  two  or  more  of  them  are  called 
compound  bodies.  There  are  now  in  existence  sixty-five 
known  and  recognized  elementary  substances ;  but  the  com- 
pound bodies  which  exist  and  are  formed  by  combinations 
of  the  elementary  bodies,  are  infinite  in  their  variety.  The 
rocky  and  earthy  crust  of  the  globe,  the  ocean  which 
bathes  it,  the  atmosphere  which  envelopes  it,  the  plants 
which  grow  upon  it,  and  the  animals  which  cover  the  face 
of  it ;  are  all  made  up  of  diversified  forms  of  matter  which 
are  absolutely  innumerable.  A  man  can  no  more  count 
them  than  he  can  number  the  sand  upon  the  sea  shore. 
It  is  one  of  those  wonders  of  nature,  which  appeal  so  strong- 
ly and  in  a  manner  so  full  of  interest  to  the  farmer  as  he 
goes  about  his  daily  labors,  with  observant  eye  and  thought- 
ful mind,  that  these  infinitely  varied  forms  of  matter, 
which  are — so  to  speak — the  raw  materials  from  which  he 
is  enabled  to  elaborate  by  his  skillful  use  of  nature's  forces, 
all  the  vegetable  and  animal  products  of  his  farm ;  are 
*inade  up  of  a  few  only  of  the  sixty-five  elementary  sub- 
stances, by  a  most  intricate  system  of  combinations.  This 
is  sufficiently  surprising,  yet  it  is  far  more  amazing 
that  nearly  the  entire  mass  of  these  vegetable  and  animal 
products  consists  of,  and  may  be  resolved  into  one  or  more 
of  only  four  of  these  simple  substances. 

When  any  vegetable  or  animal  substance  is  destroyed — 
as  is  commonly  said — but  more  correctly  decomposed,  or 
resolved  into  its  elements  by  intense  heat  and  combustion, 
it  either  entirely  disappears,  or  leaves  behind  it  a  very 
small  quantity  of  ash.  Oils,  fats,  gum,  sugar,  starch,  cotton 
fiber,  wool,  horn,  hair,  when  burned,  either  disappear  en- 


THE    ELEMENTARY   BODIES.  16 

entirely  or  leave  an  insignificant  remnant  behind;  while 
wood  or  flesh  leaves  but  little  more  of  earthy  matter  or 
ash  unconsumed.  All  that  has  disappeared  of  these  sub- 
stances consist  generally  of  three  of  the  elementary  bodies, 
and  rarely  of  four;  while  of  all  agricultural  products  the 
greater  part,  inclusive  of  the  combustible  and  inconbusti- 
ble  portions  together,  is  made  up  of  no  more  than  twelve. 
The  four  bodies  referred  to  are  carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen, 
and  nitrogen.  The  tAvelve  consist  of  these  four,  and  cal- 
cium, chlorine,  magnesium,  phosphorous,  potassium,  sili- 
con, sodium  and  sulphur. 

An  acquaintance  then  with  the  most  important  four  ele- 
ments mentioned  is  indispensable  to  the  farmer;  for  it  is 
quite  impossible  for  him  to  comprehend  the  laws  which 
govern  the  operations  of  nature  in  the  growth  of  plants,  or 
the  reasons  why  he  adopts  certain  processes  in  his  farm  work 
to  aid  and  facilitate  these  natural  operations,  without  a 
previous  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  these  elements  and 
their  reactions  upon  each  other.  And  at  the  same  time  it 
is  of  the  greatest  interest  to  him  that  he  should  have  some 
knowledge  at  least  of  the  nature  of  the  other  eight  elemen- 
tary substances  which  enter  more  or  less  into  the  ash  or 
incombustible  mineral  portion  of  the  plants  which  he  cul- 
tivates. 

A  brief  consideration  of  the  properties  of  these  four  el- 
ements which  make  up  the  organic  constituents  of  plants 
and  of  the  eight  which  go  to  make  up  their  inorganic  sub- 
stance, will  lead  the  way  for  a  study  of  the  means  whereby, 
and  the  manner  in  which,  they  enter  into  the  circulation 
of  plants  and  form  their  substance. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    III. 

CARBON.— ITS  PROPERTIES  AND  RELATIONS  TO  VEG- 
ETABLE LIFE. 

Carbon,  a  word  derived  from  the  latin  carho,  coal,  is  the 
name  given  to  a  mineral  substance  which  occurs  in  an  in- 
organic condition  in  the  diamond,  in  graphite  or  plumbaga 
(commonly  called  black  lead)  in  bitumen,  petroleum,  am- 
ber and  a  number  of  mineral  resins,  and  in  an  organic  condi- 
tion as  charcoal,  mineral  coal,  lampblack,  soot,  etc.  Its  three 
best  marked  forms  are  the  diamond  which  is  pure  carbon ; 
graphite;  which  is  found  sometimes  nearly  pure,  but  mostly 
mixed  with  more  or  less  iron ;  and  charcoal  which  contains- 
a  small  proportion  of  mineral  matters  which  form  the  ash 
of  the  wood  of  which  the  charcoal  is  made.  An  interesting- 
form  of  vegetable  carbon  is  the  fiber  of  the  cotton  plant 
which  is  almost  pure. 

Carbon  forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  substance  of 
vegetable  matter  when  it  is  freed  from  water ;  amounting 
to  from  forty  to  fifty  per  cent,  by  weight  of  all  the  parts  of 
plants  grown  as  farm  ci'ops.  It  therefore  performs  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  growth  of  plants  and  becomes  an  in- 
teresting subject  of  study  for' the  farmer. 

The  diamond  is  the  hardest  substance  known,  and  re- 
sists a  high  degree  of  heat,  but  is  combustible  at  a  very 
high  temperature.  When  made  red  hot,  and  placed  in  a 
vessel  of  pure  oxygen,  it  burns  wdth  a  brilliant  steady 
glow,  combining  with  the  oxygen,  and  forming  carbonic 
acid.  It  has  been  artificially,  but  accidently  produced,  in 
iron  furnaces  in  which  charcoal  has  been  used  as  fuel ;  but 
in  every  other  way  it  has  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  the  chem- 
ists to  produce  it.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  predicted  that  the 
diamond  would  prove  to  be  of  organic  origin  and  this  has 
some  show  of  probability  from  the  fact  that  on  burning 


CARBON.  17 

the  crystals  a  residue  of  ash  has  remained  in  the  form  of  a 
cellukir  net  work. 

Graphite  is  a  well  known  and  useful  mineral  which  al- 
though seemingly  very  soft,  its  particles  are  so  hard  as  to 
wear  out  with  great  rapidity  the  steel  saws  with  which  it 
is  cut.  It  is  produced  artificially  in  charcoal  iron  furnaces 
and  in  the  manufacture  of  coal  gas. 

Charcoal  is  the  form  in  which  carbon  appears  of  the 
most  interest  lo  the  farmer,  because  it  is  derived  from  veg- 
etable matter,  chiefly  from  wood,  although  it  is  made  from 
peat,  by  charring  it  in  heaps  covered  with  earth  and  thus 
protected  from  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere  which  would 
change  it  into  carbonic  acid.  It  is  brittle,  black,  taste- 
less, and  inodorous;  and  perfectly  insoluble.  Its  perfect 
insolubility  disproves  the  common  impression  that  it  can 
be  used  as  a  fertilizer  or  as  plant  food  in  any  manner ;  but 
its  peculiar  behavior  with  other  substances  does  give  it  an 
indirect  agency  in  this  way.  It  resists  the  action  of  thei 
air  as  well  as  of  moisture,  hence  it  is  almost  indestructi- 
ble. 

The  charred  remains  of  timber,  and  of  wheat  and  rye 
grains  which  have  been  found  in  the  ruins  of  Herculaneum 
where  they  have  remained  unchanged  for  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  proves  its  unchangeable  character.  This  prop- 
erty of  charcoal  has  been  made  use  of  in  preparing  posts 
to  be  set  in  the  ground  by  charring  them,  by  which  they 
are  made  exceedingly  durable.  When  pure  and  dry, 
charcoal  burns  without  any  flame;  the  light  blue  flame 
sometimes  seen  when  it  is  burned,  is  caused  by  the  com- 
bustion cf  water  of  w^hich  it  absorbs,  in  the  form  of  vapor 
from  the  atmosphere,  from  ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  in  a  sin- 
gle week's  exposure. 

Having  the  porous  structure  of  the  wood  or  peat  from 
which  it  may  be  prepared,  charcoal  possesses  a  remarka- 
ble power  of  absorbing  gases  and  of  condensing  them  in  its 
pores;  hence  it  becomes  at  times  of  much  value  in  the  soil, 
and  it  is  to  this  fact  that  its  notable  effect  upon  vegetation 
is  due.      This  effect  is  the  dark  green  color  of  the  herbage 


18  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

and  the  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  in  its  vicinity;  caused 
doubtless  by  its  absorption  of  ammonia.  It  will  absorb 
ninety  times  its  bulk  of  this  gas,  thirty-five  times  its  bulk 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  nine  times  its  bulk  of  oxygen.  Char- 
coal made  from  the  hard  and  dense  woods  exerts  this 
absorbing  power  jn  the  greatest  degree;  having  as 
much  as  one  hundred  square  feet  of  surface  in  its  ex- 
ceedingly fine  pores,  in  every  cubic  inch.  This  power  to 
condense  gases  gives  it  a  very  great  importance  in  agri- 
culture in  various  ways.  It  absorbs  noxious  gases  and  of- 
fensive odors,  and  when  crushed  so  as  to  expose  its  greatest 
absorbing  surface  wall  filter  water  and  purify  it  from  foul 
matter,  and  restore  tainted  meat  to  its  former  sweetness. 
It  will  absorb  the  deadly  carbonic  acid  which  accumulates 
in  wells  and  pits,  and  thus  remove  the  danger  of  loss  of 
life  in  entering  such  places.  It  will  purify  and  remove 
the  dark  color  from  cider,  syrups,  wines  and  vinegars,  and 
is  thus  used  to  a  large  extent. 

Charcoal  is  thus  a  powerful  disinfectant  as  well  as  a  de- 
odorizer; for  by  condensing  in  its  pores  noxious  vapors 
and  gases,  it  removes  poisonous  substances  from  the  air 
and  avoids  the  danger  of  fatal  diseases.  It  however  does 
not  act  as  an  antiseptic  and  prevent  decomposition,  but 
hastens  it,  by  absorbing  oxygen,  which  is  the  most  active 
agent  of  decomposition;  and  which  rapidly  destroys  or- 
ganic matter;  but  while  thus  accelerating  the  decay  of 
substances  which  are  brought  into  contact  with  it,  it  pre- 
vents all  offensive  results  by  continually  seizing  upon  these 
products  and  causing  their  immediate  oxidation.  This 
process  goes  on  continually  and  thus  a  small  quantity  of 
powdered  charcoal  may  have  a  surprisingly  disproportion- 
ate effect.  It  is  turned  into  valuable  use  in  this  way  by 
surgeons  for  poultices  to  corrode  and  decompose  sloughing 
and  gangrenous  flesh,  in  malignant  sores  and  in  serious 
wounds.  It  changes  ammonia  into  nitric  acid  and  thus 
serves  a  most  useful  purpose  as  an  ingredient  of  manure 
heaps  and  composts;  preventing  the  loss  of  valuable  am- 
monia and  changing  it  into  the  stable  forms  of  nitric  acid 


HUMUS   OR    VEGETABLE   MOLD.  19 

and  nitrates.  It  also  changes  the  disgustingly  offensive 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  of  decaying  manure  and  other  or- 
ganic matter,  into  sulphuric  acid,  and  thus  removes  a 
sometimes  intolerable  nuisance  of  barn  yards  and  hog  pens 
to  uninitiated  passers  on  the  road. 

Humus  is  another  form  of  carbon,  although  an  impure 
one,  which  deserves  notice.  It  is  the  decomposed  remains 
of  vegetable  matter  which  has  undergone  the  slow  process 
of  decay — a  kind  of  combustion  and  oxidation — in  the 
open  air.  It  exists  in  swamps  in  the  form  of  peat  and  black 
porous  soil ;  in  woods  as  a  dark  spongy  mass  on  the  sur- 
face, covering  the  lower  soil,  and  wherever  a  mass  of  veg- 
etation has. slowly  decayed.  The  leaf  mold  so  much  prized 
by  gardners  is  chiefly  humus. 

When  the  woody  matter  of  plants,  large  and  small  alike, 
is  exposed  to  moisture  and  air,  it  undergoes  a  slow  decom- 
position, in  whicli  oxygen  is  absorbed.  It  is  in  fact  pre- 
cisely similiar  in  its  operation  and  effects  to  a  slow  com- 
bustion or  charring,  although  accompanied  by  so  small  a 
quantity  of  heat  as  to  be  almost  imperceptible.  With  the 
absorption  of  oxygen  and  its  combination  with  a  portion 
of  the  carbon,  carbonic  acid  is  formed.  Some  of  the  oxy- 
gen also  combines  with  hydrogen  and  forms  water ;  but  as 
the  hydrogen  is  taken  first,  a  large  portion  of  carbon  re- 
mains and  the  mass  gradually  assumes  a  dark  brown  or 
black  color  and  becomes  what  is  termed :  "vegetable  mold.'* 
To  this  crumbled  porous  substance  the  term  humus  is  ap- 
plied. It  contains  various  acids,  as  geic,  ulmic  and  humic 
acids.  This  class  of  substances  is  of  great  importance  in 
agriculture,  as  by  their  decomposition  they  yield  up  car- 
bonic acid  to  plants,  and  have  the  power  of  absorbing  and 
retaining  ammonia  to  be  yielded  up  for  the  same  purpose. 

Carbonaceous  matter  gradually  accumulates  in  soils  that 
are  always  covered  with  vegetation,  as  in  forests,  pastures 
and  prairies.  This  is  a  conclusive  proof  that  the  carbon 
of  it  is  derived  from  the  atmosphere,  and  that  growth  is 
more  rapid  than  decay.  When  land  is  brought  under  cul- 
tivation this  carbonaceous  matter  is  consumed  by  the  crops 


20  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

and  unless  it  is  restored  by  a  course  of  good  culture,  by- 
plowing  under  green  crops,  or  by  furnishing  manure  to  the 
soil,  or  by  cultivating  such  crops  as  clover  and  grass  Avhich 
leave  a  large  amount  of  vegetable  matter  behind  them  in 
their  roots,  the  land  is  gradually  exhausted  and  becomes, 
unable  to  produce  profitable  crops.  A  crop  of  clover  has 
been  found  to  leave  in  the  soil  more  than  three  tons  weight 
of  roots,  while  the  roots  left  by  wheat  do  not  amount  to 
one-fifth  of  this  quantity.  Hence  we  have  the  explanation 
of  the  deep  rich  soils  of  newly  cleared  forest  land,  of 
drained  swamps,  and  of  the  western  prairies,  as  well  as  of 
the  valuable  effects  of  clover  upon  the  land. 


THE    PROPERTIES    OF    OXYGEN. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
OXYGEN.— ITS  PROPERTIES  AND  RELATIONS  TO  LIFE. 

Oxygen  is  the  most  remarkable  and  important  of  all  the 
elementary  substances.  It  is  a  gas.  This  term  gas  was 
iirst  used  in  the  seventeenth  century  and  is  a  reminder  not 
only  of  the  origin  of  a  great  part  of  our  present  chemical 
knowledge,  but  of  the  superstitions  of  the  early  periods  of 
chemical  investigation ;  and  of  the  recent  emancipation  of 
chemistry  from  those  superstitions.  The  early  chemists, 
known  as  alchemists,  who  believed  in  such  notions,  as  the 
existence  of  an  "elixir"  or  fluid,  which  would  make  man 
immortal ;  and  of  a  substance  which  could  transmute  all 
the  base  metals  to  gold,  and  which  they  termed  the  "phil- 
osophers stone,"  were  surprised  and  alarmed  by  the  sudden 
explosions  of  their  retorts,  often  accompanied  by  the  violent 
death  of  the  experimenters,  or  of  the  sulphurous  exhalation 
and  fumes  which  produced  suffocation.  They  were  led  to 
believe  in  their  ignorance  that  these  disasters  were  due  to 
the  agency  of  spirits  which  refused  to  be  imprisoned  and 
brought  under  the  power  of  their  tormentors,  and  burst  the 
vessels  and  slew  the  operators  in  revenge.  The  alchemists 
therefore  began  their  work  with  prayers  and  marked  their 
vessels  with  the  holy  cross  from  which  we  have  had  brought 
down  to  us  the  word  "crucible;"  a  vessel  in  which  substan- 
ces are  subjected  to  great  heat  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
their  decomposition.  Hence  we  have  the  origin  of  the 
terms  spirits ;  as  spirits  of  wine,  spirits  of  nitre,  etc.,  and  al- 
so the  term  gas ;  which  was  derived  from  the  German  gahst , 
a  ghost  or  spirit. 

Oxygen  is  a  recent  discovery,  having  been  first  discovered 
in  1774  by  Dr.  Priestly.  Its  discovery  was  claimed  by  the 
French  chemist  Lavoisier;  but  the  honor  is  generally  ac- 
corded to  Priestly.  Its  discovery,  like  all  others  of  that  and 


22  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

previous  periods,  was  the  result  of  an  accidental  submission 
of  the  red  oxide  of  mercury  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  concen- 
trated by  a  lens  or  burning  glass.  It  is  an  interesting  coin- 
cidence that  the  sun,  the  central  focus  of  the  chemical  action 
of  the  universe,  should  be  the  agent  by  which  the  most  po- 
tent of  chemical  agencies  should  have  been  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  mankind. 

This  discovery  may  well  be  classed  as  the  most  important 
in  the  history  of  human  knowledge,  rivaling  the  great  dis- 
covery of  gravitation  by  Newton  in  the  preceding  century, 
and  throwing  floods  of  light  upon  the  investigations  of  the 
mysteries  of  what  we  call  nature.  Of  the  discovery  of  this 
potent  substance.  Prof.  Liebig  has  observed  that  "it  has 
produced  a  revolution  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  man- 
kind. With  it  are  linked,  as  results,  our  knowledge  of  the 
composition  of  the  atmosphere,  of  water,  of  the  solid  crust 
of  the  earth,  and  of  the  influence  of  these  upon  the  existence 
and  life  of  plants  and  animals.  Every  human  industry  has 
been  aflected  by  it ;  all  trades  and  manufactures  and  by  no 
means  least  agriculture,  have  been  aided  and  advanced  im- 
measurably by  our  knowledge  of  it."  The  study  of  its 
properties  may  be  made  a  profitable  and  most  interesting 
pursuit  in  the  farmers  household,  in  the  leisure  hours  which 
may  be  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  all  useful  knowledge 
connected  with  his  vocation,  and  no  better  subject  could  be 
selected  for  the  most  pleasing  and  instructive  experiments. 
It  is  easily  procured  and  managed  by  means  of  simple  and 
cheap  apparatus. 

Oxygen  is  a  transparent,  colorless,  tasteless,  inodorous  gas, 
one-tenth  heavier  than  the  atmosphere  of  which  it  forms  23 
per  cent,  of  its  weight.  It  has  never  been  condensed  into  a 
liquid.  It  exerts  a  weak  magnetic  force  which  is  supposed 
to  cause,  or  to  be  concerned  in,  the  daily  fluctuations  of  the 
magnetic  needle ;  and  this  property  varies  with  its  tempera- 
ture. It  is  slightly  soluble  in  water,  4  J  parts  of  it  being  ab- 
sorbed by  100  parts  of  water. 

It  is  neutral,  possessing  neither  acid  nor  alkaline  qualities, 
and  although  mild  and  bland,  it  exerts  the  most  amazing 


COMBINATIONS   OF    OXYGEN.  23 

power  in  its  combinations.  It  combines  with  every  other 
substance  and  produces  the  most  diverse  and  opposite  com- 
pounds. With  some  substances  it  forms  gases,  with  others 
liquids  or  solids ;  with  some  it  forms  acids  of  the  most  cor- 
rosive quality ;  with  others  it  forms  alkalies  equally  corro- 
sive; while  a  union  of  two  of  these — an  acid  and  an  alkali 
— often  forms  neutral  compounds  perfectly  bland  and  in- 
noxious. An  instance  may  be  given.  With  sulphur,  oxygen 
forms  sulphuric  acid,  the  intensely  burning  and  destructive 
"oil  of  vitriol"  as  it  is  commonly  called.  With  calcium — a 
metal — it  forms  caustic  lime,  an  intensely  acrid  and  de- 
structive alkali,  which  corrodes  and  destroys  all  vegetable 
and  animal  substance.  These  two  combined  form  sulphate 
of  lime,  the  well  known  gypsum,  an  inoffensive  and  useful 
compound  well  known  as  "plaster"  to  every  farmer. 

The  oxygen  of  the  air  is  equally  diffused  through  it  in 
the  form  of  a  mixture,  and  not  combined.  If  this  oxygen 
were  to  become  combined  with  the  other  element  of  the  air, 
all  life,  of  whatever  kind  it  might  be,  would  be  destroyed 
in  an  instant ;  for  the  product  of  the  combination  would  ])c 
that  most  corrosive  substance  nitric  acid ;  but  as  it  is  only 
mixed  it  exerts  only  a  beneficent  action  in  supporting  life. 
All  combustion  is  the  result  of  the  action  of  oxygen,  it  has 
a  powerful  affinity  for  carbon  and  the  other  elements  of  which 
fuel  is  composed  and  unites  with  them  so  violently  as  to 
produce  the  heat  and  light  of  our  fires  and  lamps.  Com- 
bustible substances  burn  with  greatly  increased  heat  and 
brilliance  in  pure  oxygen,  and  the  reason  why  a  furnace 
that  is  supplied  with  a  blast  is  so  intensely  hot,  is  because  a 
large.volumn  of  oxygen  is  forced  into  it  with  the  increased 
supply  of  air.  Iron  and  steel  burn  with  wonderful  bril- 
liancy in  ajar  of  oxygen,  if  tipped  with  sulphur,  and  ignited 
to  start  the  combustion.  This  combustion  is  called  oxida- 
tion and  it  goes  on  slowly  in  the  absence  of  heat ;  but  is  al- 
ways accompanied  by  some  slight  rise  of  temperature.  A 
piece  of  iron  which  slowly  oxidizes,  or  rusts  away,  to  a 
brown  powder — which  is  oxide  of  iron — is  subjected  to  pre- 
cisely the  same  amount  of  heat  in  the  aggregate,  as  if  burn- 


24  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

ed  in  ajar  of  oxygen  or  consumed  in  an  intensely  heated 
furnace.  The  heat  and  time,  in  both  instances,  multiplied 
together,  would  produce  precisely  the  same  sum.  Vegetable 
matter  decomposes  or  is  consumed  by  the  action  of  oxygen 
in  a  similar  way.  The  oxygen  breaks  up  the  organic  sub- 
stance into  simpler  compounds;  separating  the  other  ele- 
ments previously  mentioned  (see  chap.  II)  and  uniting  with 
them ;  forming  carbonic  acid  with  the  carbon,  water  with 
the  hydrogen,  nitric  acid  with  the  nitrogen,  potash  with  the 
potassium,  soda  with  the  sodium,  lime  w^ith  the  calcium, 
magnesia  with  the  magnesium,  phosphoric  acid  with  the 
phosphorus,  silica  with  the  silicon,  and  sulj^huric  acid  with 
the  sulphur.  All  of  these  constituents  of  plants  are  thus 
seen  to  be  composed  in  part  of  this  common  element,  which 
pervades  all  nature. 

Oxygen  is  the  universal  supporter  of  respiration;  and 
plants  perform  this  function  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
animals.  That  is,  they  imbibe  air  through  the  pores  in 
their  leaves  and  separate  oxygen  from  it  and  utilize  this  in 
their  vital  functions.  Animals  draw  it  into  their  lungs 
where  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  blood,  then  and  there 
loaded  with  impure  matter  brought  through  the  veins  from 
the  extremities  of  the  system,  and  oxidizing  it  changes  these 
impurities,  frees  the  blood  from  them,  and  sends  the  vital 
fluid  back  through  the  arteries,  bright,  clear  and  fitted  to 
reinforce  and  build  up  the  muscular  tissue.  And  this  oxi- 
dizing effect  of  this  "vital  air"  as  it  has  been  called,  is  ac- 
companied by  a  certain  elevation  of  temperature  for  it  is 
accompanied  by  a  chemical  process  closely  akin  to  com- 
bustion. 

The  air  over  every  square  inch  of  the  earth's  surface 
weighs  15  pounds.  Three  pounds  of  this  is  oxygen.  A 
man  consumes  by  respiration  about  2  j^ounds  of  oxygen 
daily.  One  pound  of  coal  in  burning  consumes  2f  pounds 
of  oxygen,  so  that  the  heat  produced  in  a  man's  system  by 
the  process  of  respiration  is  equal  to  that  produced  by  the 
combustion  of  one  pound  of  coal. 

Oxygen  not  only  contributes  the  vital  element  to  the  at- 


DOMINANT  POWER  OF  THE  SUNBEAM.         25 

mosphere  but  it  also  comprises  8  ninths  of  the  water  we 
drink ;  water  consisting  of  8  pounds  of  oxygen  and  1  pound 
of  hydrogen  combined.  It  also  forms  the  larger  portion  of 
all  the  rocks  which  form  the  solid  crust  of  the  earth.  Of 
these  the  three  chief  minerals  are  lime,  silica  and  alumina, 
and  of  these  about  one-half  of  the  mass  consists  of  oxygen. 
Thus  about  one-half  of  all  the  mass  of  the  earth  and  every- 
thing upon  its  surface  is  made  up  of  this  simple  element, 
which  no  man  has  ever  seen  or  will  probably  see ;  and  when 
this  great  fact  is  considered  along  with  the  vast  force  of 
this  all  pervading  gas,  it  seems  to  call  to  the  mind  of  man 
a  type  of  eternal  existence  and  resistless  power.  It  is  an 
omnipresent,  all  powerful  spirit,  benevolent  and  destructive 
at  the  same  time;  which  holds  all  nature  in  its  embrace; 
evolves  life  and  action,  and  yet  revels  in  consuming  fire  and 
is  able  to  reduce  all  things  to  death  and  ashes. 

But  the  vast  force  of  this  grand  element  is  controlled  and 
reduced  to  order  and  system  by  the  beams  of  the  sun. 
These  are  the  grand  antagonists  of  oxygen.  The  solar  rays 
with  their  genial  vivifying  warmth  bring  the  dormant  forces 
of  vegetable  life  into  action.  They  start  the  vital  germ  into 
active  life.  The  spire  appears  and  soon  brings  forth  the 
green  leaves.  These  leaves  absorb  carbonic  acid  from  the 
air,  rescue  the  carbon  from  the  grasp  of  the  all  devouring 
oxygen  and  store  it  into  their  cellular  tissue.  The  roots  sup- 
ported by  the  leaves,  extract  nutriment  from  the  matter 
which  has  been  reduced  from  organized  substance  by  the 
destroying  influence  of  oxygen  and  form  it  again  into  living 
organism.  What  oxygen  has  decomposed  the  plants  recon- 
struct ;  and  if  this  element  is  the  main  spring  of  destruction 
and  decomposition,  the  solar  ray  which  staits  vegetable  life 
into  action  and  gives  it  vitality,  is  the  still  m.ore  powerful 
controlling  and  counteracting  agent  and  brings  life  and 
beauty  from  death  and  desolation.  An  ancient  fable  tells 
that  Prometheus  stole  a  spark  of  celestial  fire  and  with  it 
warmed  into  life  an  earthly  body  which  he  had  formed. 
This  is  no  fable;  it  is  but  a  poetical  fancy  which  contains 
in  pleasing  picturesque  form  a  great  truth.      Perhaps  the 


26  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

ancient  poet  realized  through  some  inspiration  this  fact  as 
yet  then  unknown,  and  put  it  into  a  form  of  life  and  per- 
sonality. The  spark  is  the  sunbeam ;  which  indeed  starts 
dead  matter  into  life  and  fills  the  earth  with  vitality ;  caus- 
ing the  luxuriant  vegetation  which  in  turn  supports  directly 
and  indirectly  every  form  of  animal  life.  The  sunbeam  is 
then  the  master  spirit  of  the  universe ;  controlling  the  great 
agent  of  destruction  and  building  up  again  the  structures 
which  oxygen  reduces  to  dust. 

OZONE. 

This  subject  is  too  important  to  leave  without  a  reference 
to  a  form  of  oxygen  which  plays  a  most  important  part  in 
nature  and  is  believed  to  have  some  effect  upon  vegetation. 
This  is  called  ozone.  When  an  electrical  spark  is  passed 
through  dry  air  a  peculiar  odor  is  perceived.  The  cause  of 
this  was  not  understood  until  recently  when  Prof.  Schonbien 
proved  that  it  w^as  a  form  of  oxygen  greatly  increased  in 
intensity.  It  is  believed  by  some  chemists  that  ozone  (as  it 
was  termed  by  its  discoverer  because  of  its  peculiar  odor)  is 
formed  by  the  combination  of  two  atoms  of  oxygen  with 
each  other;  or  in  other  Avords,  an  oxide  of  oxygen.  This 
substance  is  therefore  of  great  intensity,  equal  in  force  to 
that  of  oxygen  multiplied  by  itself.  It  has  an  extraordinary 
energy  and  produces  changes  which  oxygen  is  unable  to  do. 
It  corrodes  silver,  bleaches  colors  untouched  by  oxygen, 
destroys  the  odor  of  tainted  flesh  instantly,  by  decomposing^ 
the  gases  which  escape  from  it,  and  causes  the  decay  of  woody 
fiber  with  excessive  rapidity.  It  is  believed  to  be  the  cause 
of  the  mysterious  souring  of  milk  in  dairies  Avhich  so  often 
occurs  after  thunder  storms,  when  the  peculiar  odor  of  ozone 
pervades  the  air.  The  vivid  greenness  of  the  herbage  of  the 
meadows  after  thunder  showers  is  also  supposed  to  be  due 
to  the  effects  of  the  ozone  produced  and  washed  into  the  soil 
by  the  rain. 

This  substance  is  readily  detected  by  means  of  slips  of 
test  paper  made  by  soaking  them  in  a  mixture  of  iodide  of 
potassium  dissolved  in  water,  and  starch.     The  ozone  frees 


OZONE.  2T 

the  iodine  from  its  combination  with  the  potassium  and  the 
iodine  then  instantly  acts  upon  the  starch  in  its  usual  man- 
ner and  turns  the  paper  blue.  At  present  very  little  is 
known  of  this  substance,  its  manner  of  production  or  its  econ- 
omy in  nature,  yet  its  connection  with  oxygen  gives  it  an 
importance  which  calls  for  its  recognition  in  this  treatise. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    V. 

HYDROGEN  AND  NITROGEN  AND  THEIR  COMPOUNDS. 
THEIR  RELATION  TO  VEGETABLE  GROWTH. 

Hydrogen,  like  oxygen,  is  a  colorless,  tasteless  gas  with- 
out any  odor ;  slightly  soluble  in  water  and  exceedingly 
inflammable.  It  is  never  found  free,  but  always  in  combin- 
ation, forming  one-ninth  by  weight  of  water,  and  a  consid- 
erable proportion  of  all  organized  matter.  When  combined 
with  nitrogen  in  the  proportion  of  three  parts  to  one  of  the 
latter  it  form.s  ammonia,  and  this  compound  is  always 
formed  during  the  decomposition  of  organic  matter.  Its 
part  in  the  formation  of  water  by  the  union  of  one  part  with 
eight  parts  of  oxygen  gives  to  it,  its  greatest  importance  in 
the  economy  of  nature ;  and  its  name  hydro-gen  or  "gener- 
ator of  water"  is  derived  from  this,  its  chief  property. 
But  it  is  no  more  entitled  to  this  name  than  oxygen  is,  but 
received  it  because  it  was  discovered  and  became  known  a 
few  years  before  oxygen.  The  English  chemist,  Cavendish, 
first  discovered  it  as  an  element  in  1766.  The  only  impor- 
tant solid  mineral  into  whose  composition  it  enters  is  coal. 

This  gas  is  the  lightest  of  all  known  substances  being  14i 
times  lighter  than  air,  and  hence  is  employed  to  inflate 
balloons.  It  will  not  support  life,  but  is  not  noxious ;  an 
animal  immersed  in  it  dies  simply  for  want  of  oxygen. 
When  mixed  with  oxygen  and  ignited,  the  gases  explode 
violently  and  water  is  formed.  It  burns  when  pure  with  a 
light  blue  flame,  giving  out  intense  heat,  but  very  little 
light  and  also  forms  water.  When  mixed  with  carbon,  it 
forms  the  common  marsh  gas,  and  the  fatal  fire-damp  of 
coal  mines.  This  gas  is  produced  by  the  decomposition  of 
vegetable  matter  and  accompanies  the  fermentation  of  man- 
lue  in  heaps  in  the  barn  yard.     When  mixed  with  air  it  is 


NITROGEN.  29" 

explosive,  and  it  then  produces  the  peculiar  blue  flames 
which  occur  by  spontaneous  ecmbustion  as  the  gas  es- 
capes in  bubbles  from  wet  marshes.  It  is  also  the  gas 
which  is  found  in  deep  crevices  in  the  rocks  far  beneath  the 
surface  in  localities  where  petroleum  exists,  and  which  is 
sought  for  by  boring,  and  used  for  illuminating  purposes 
and  for  fuel  for  engine  furnaces. 

Another  compound  of  carbon  with  hydrogen  i^  the  com- 
mon gas  distilled  from  coal  and  used  for  illuminating  pur- 
poses. Its  more  brilliant  light  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it 
contains  twice  as  much  carbon  as  the  previously  mentioned 
gas. 

It  also  forms  a  part  of  all  oils,  fats,  resins  and  wax ;  be- 
ing combined  in  these  with  carbon  and  oxygen  in  varying 
proportions.  It  is  a  constituent  of  petroleum  and  all  its 
products,  including  the  beautiful  aniline  dyes  which  are 
made  from  it.  It  also  enters  into  the  composition  of  woody 
fiber,  and  the  starch,  gum,  sugar  and  alcohols,  which  are 
products  of  it ;  both  naturally  and  artificially.  It  is  thus 
a  most  important  element,  and  offers  to  the  studious  farmer 
a  subject  for  study  of  great  interest. 

A  number  of  very  pleasing  experiments  may  be  made 
with  it,  such  as  its  production  by  the  decomposition  of  water ; 
the  formation  of  water  by  its  combustion  and  union  with 
oxygen ;  its  combustion  and  oxidation  by  means  of  a  porous 
substance,  as  spongy  platinum  and  the  formation  of  its 
compounds. 

NITROGEN. 

This  gas  was  discovered  in  1772  by  a  chemist  named 
Rutherford.  It  is  diffused  extensively  in  nature  forming 
four-fifths  of  the  atmosphere ;  entering  largely  into  the  com- 
position of  vegetable  and  animal  substance,  and  being  a 
most  indispensable  part  of  the  food  of  plants  and  animals. 
About  one-sixth  of  all  animal  tissue  consists  of  this  gas. 
It  forms  a  part  of  many  of  our  powerful  medicines,  as  qui- 
nine and  morphine,  and  of  the  most  dangerous  poisons  as^ 
strychnine  and  prussic  acid.  It  is  not  found  in  any  of  the 


'30  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Tocks  excepting  those  of  an  organic  origin,  as  coal,  which 
contains  2  or  3  per  cent,  of  it. 

Its  name  signifies  the  generator  of  nitre,  because  it  exists 
largely  in  this  substance  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid  and  may 
be  produced  from  it.  It  may  be  produced  from  air  by  a  very 
•simple  and  beautiful  experiment.  A  small  piece  of  phos- 
phorus is  placed  in  a  little  saucer  and  floated  on  water 
in  a  dish  or  trough;  the  phosporus  is  set  on  fire  and 
-covered  with  a  bell  glass.  The  combustion  of  the  phos- 
phorous produces  phosphoric  acid  by  its  combination  with 
the  oxygen  of  the  air,  which  is  all  taken  up  in  this  way  ; 
this  acid  is  absorbed  very  quickly  by  the  water  and  the 
nitrogen  is  left.  It  is  then  found  to  be  a  transparent  gas, 
without  color,  taste  or  smell ;  which  is  unable  to  support 
combustion  or  life.  A  lighted  match  introduced  into  the 
gas  is  immediately  extinguished  and  a  mouse  put  under  the 
bell  glass  dies  in  a  short  time  for  want  of  oxygen.  It  is  not 
poisonous,  but  simply  has  no  active  properties,  being  when 
uncombined  wholly  inert,  and  for  this  reason  was  formerly 
-called  azote,  or  "life  destroyer."  Its  purpose  in  nature,  in 
its  free  state,  seems  to  be  to  act  as  a  dilutent  of  the  exceed- 
ingly active  oxygen,  and  to  thus  adapt  it  to  the  condi- 
tions of  life. 

Water  absorbs  about  li  per  cent,  of  its  bulk  of  this  gas, 
^nd  it  is  not  unlikely  that  plants  may  procure  some  of  their 
nitrogen  from  this  source. 

Nitrogen  is  most  interesting  when  we  come  to  consider 
its  combinations.  It  combines  with  oxygen  to  form  five 
remarkable  compounds.  The  first  of  these  is  nitrous  oxide, 
called  from  its  peculiar  effects  when  breathed,  laughing  gas. 
This  is  a  colorless  transparent  gas,  of  a  sweetish  taste  and 
soluble  in  water  to  the  extent  of  three-fourths  of  the  bulk 
of  the  latter.  It  supports  combustion  actively,  relighting 
a  glowing  ember  when  this  is  plunged  into  it  and  causing 
an  intense  combustion  of  ignited  substances  almost  equal  to 
the  effect  of  oxygen.  At  a  pressure  of  750  pounds  to  the 
isquare  inch  it  condenses  into  a  clear  liquid  which  boils  on- 
ly at  the  great  heat  of  1126  degrees,  which  is  considerably 


riiOPERTIES    OF   NITROGEN.  31 

above  the  melting  point  of  lead,  and  freezes  at  150  degrees 
below  zero.  The  second  is  nitric  oxide,  which,  although  it 
■contains  a  larger  quantity  of  oxygen  than  the  preceeding, 
jet  is  averse  to  combustion  and  extinguishes  flame.  Nitrous 
acid  is  a  gas,  orange  red  in  color,  and  is  soluble  in  water  to 
a  large  extent ;  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  it  becomes  ni- 
tric acid.  This  acid  is  of  surpassing  interest  to  the  farmer 
because  it  is  a  form  in  which  nitrogen  enters  into  the 
substance  of  plants  and  w^ithout  which,  in  sufl[icient  quanti- 
ty, farm  crops  cannot  be  produced  profitably. 

Nitric  acid  is  a  colorless  liquid  with  an  intensely  sour 
taste,  and  when  combined  with  potash,  forms  the  well 
Ivuown  substance,  saltpeter  or  nitre.  It  exists  thus  com- 
bined in  large  deposits  in  South  America,  and  is  found  in 
small  quantities  in  large  caves  in  the  United  States.  In 
combination  with  soda,  as  nitrate  of  soda,  or  Chili  saltpeter, 
it  is  found  in  very  extensive  beds  in  Peru,  Chili  and  Boli- 
via and  other  places  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  South 
America.  This  substance  is  very  largely  used  as  a  ferti- 
lizer, for  which  purpose  it  is  exceedingly  valuable. 

Nitric  acid  is  composed  of  nitrogen  and  oxygen  combined 
and  is  an  exceedingly  active  substance.  On  account  of  the 
large  quantity  of  oxygen  in  this  acid  it  possesses  very  active 
properties  and  is  one  of  the  most  eflTective  oxidizing  agents 
known.  It  stains  animal  substances  yellow  and  is  thus 
used  as  a  yellow  dye.  It  corrodes  metals  very  quickly  and 
is  used  by  engravers  for  "biting"  in  the  etchings  upon  cop- 
per plates ;  it  ignites  oil  of  turpentine  and  powdered  char- 
coal, and  causes  such  rapid  oxidation  of  phosphorous  as  to 
produce  explosion. 

Another  most  important  compound  of  nitrogen  is  that 
with  hydrogen,  which  is  known  as  ammonia.  This  is  a  gas 
of  a  most  pungent  odor  and  acrid  caustic  taste,  and  has 
strongly  alkaline  properties.  It  is  rapidly  absorbed  by 
water,  which  takes  up  more  than  700  times  its  bulk  of  it, 
and  then  forms  the  water  of  ammonia  or  aqua  ammonie  of 
the  druggist.  It  is  produced  by  the  distillation  of  horn, 
and  as  it  was  first  made  from   deers   horns,  it  was  called 


32  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

"spirits  of  hartshorn."  It  is  largely  contained  in  decom- 
posing urine  and  causes  the  pungent  odor  of  stables  in 
which  horses  are  kept.  Being  volatile,  it  escapes  into  the- 
air  with  great  ease,  and  unless  combined  with  some  acid 
into  a  permanent  form  it  is  disengaged  readily  from  decom- 
posing manure  by  fermentation  and  heat,  and  is  lost  to  the 
farmer. 

It  has  been  supposed  heretofore,  that  this  gas  was  the 
source  from  Avhich  plants  derived  their  nitrogen,  but  re- 
cent investigations  go  to  prove  that  ammonia  is  oxidized  in 
the  soil  and  changed  into  nitric  acid  before  it  can  become 
available  for  the  nutriment  and  support  of  plants. 

Ammonia  combines  freely  with  acids.  With  sulphuric 
acid  it  forms  a  stable  compound,  sulphate  of  ammonia; 
hence  it  is  useful  to  employ  solutions  of  sulphate  of  iron,, 
(copperas)  or  sulphate  of  lime,  (gypsum  or  plaster)  to  fix 
any  escaping  ammonia  which  may  be  in  danger  of  loss  from 
stables  and  manure  yards.  The  employment  of  plaster  in 
this  way  and  for  this  purpose  is  quite  common  among  care- 
ful and  economical  farmers,  who  scatter  it  liberally  about 
the  stables  and  yards,  and  so  deodorize  and  purify  them ; 
make  them  more  agreeable  and  healthful,  and  save  all  this 
exceedingly  valuable  fertilizing  agent.  The  ammonia  hav- 
ing an  exceedingly  strong  affinity  for  sulphuric  acid  takes 
this  from  the  sulphate  of  iron  cr  lime  and  combines  with  it» 
leaving  the  iron  in  the  form  of  an  oxide,  or  the  lime  in  the 
form  of  a  carbonate. 


ATOMIC  WEIGHTS. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  COMBINATIONS  OF  ORGANIC  SUBSTANCES. 

It  is  one  of  the  grand  laws  of  nature,  that  however  often 
matter  may  change  its  form,  it  is  never  lost.  Matter  is  in- 
destructible. It  is  changed  and  rechanged  into  infinitely 
numerous  and  varied  forms,  but  it  never  loses  a  particle  and 
there  is  no  waste.  Another  universal  law  is  that  "of  noth- 
ing, nothing  only  comes,"  and  that  mankind  with  all  their 
work  and  labor  can  expect  nothing  more  from  the  soil  or 
from  any  natural  element  than  it  contains.  Labor  only, 
changes  the  forpi  of  matter;  it  never  creates  anything. 
Another  grand  law  of  nature  is  that  all  matter  of  whatever 
kind,  exists  in  the  form  of  very  minute  particles,  which  are 
so  small  as  to  be  invisible;  that  these  are  unchangeable; 
and  that  as  the  various  elementarj^  substances  combine  with 
each  other,  they  invariably  do  so  in  j^recisely  the  same  pro- 
portions. Thus  8  atoms  or  particles,  (or  pounds ;  the  quan- 
tity makes  no  difference)  of  oxygen,  and  1  part  by  weight 
of  hydrogen,  combine  to  make  water ;  that  potash  consists 
ever  and  always  of  89  parts  of  potassium  and  8  of  oxygen ; 
and  common  salt  of  35  i:)arts  of  chlorine  to  23  of  sodium ; 
and  so  on  through  the  whole  list  of  the  65  known  elemen- 
tary substances.  Certain  numbers,  known  by  long  contin- 
ued experiment,  and  called  combining  numbers,  or  atomic 
weights,  represent  the  proportions,  by  weight,  in  which  the 
elements  unite  to  form  all  their  compounds.  A  compound 
is  not  a  mixture.  If  we  take  salt  ftnd  sand  and  mix  them 
together,  no  matter  how  intimately,  the  salt  remains  the 
same  and  so  does  the  sand,  and  they  can  be  separated  by 
adding  water  which  will  dissolve  the  salt  and  leave  the  sand 
as  it  was  before.  The  salt  and  water  are  also  mixed  and 
can  be  separated  by  boiling  away  the  water  and  leaving  the 
salt  dry.     The  water  may  be  converted  into  steam  or  vapor; 


34  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

but  the  only  difference  between  the  water  and  the  steam  or 
vapor  is  that  the  particles  of  the  water  are  separated  widely 
apart  by  the  heat  and  they  become  invisible ;  but  they  exist 
still  and  can  be  brought  together  again  and  condensed  into 
a  fluid  and  reappear  as  water  by  the  action  of  cold  or  the  loss 
of  the  heat.  These  are  mixtures.  A  chemical  combination 
is  entirely  different.  If  w^e  take  some  sulphur  and  burn  it, 
it  combines  with  oxygen  from  the  atmosphere,  and  the  solid 
sulphur  becomes  a  powerfully  corrosive  gas  which  when 
mixed  with  water  is  known  as  sulphuric  acid.  This  acid  is 
a  combination — not  a  mixture — of  the  two  elements,  and  it 
cannot  be  separated  into  these  without  a  complicated  chem- 
ical process.  If  a  piece  of  copper  is  put  in  a  quantity  of 
this  acid,  the  copper  disappears  and  the  liquid  becomes  a 
solution  of  sulphate  of  copper.  If  the  water  is  evaporated 
the  copper  sulphate  remains  in  the  form  of  clear  blue  crys- 
tals which  are  commonly  called  blue  vitriol.  This  is  a 
combination  of  the  elements  oxygen,  sulphur  and  copper, 
but  is  not  a  mixture. 

All  organic  vegetable  and  animal  substance  consists  of  the 
four  elements  which  have  been  previously  described.  The 
peculiar  characters  or  properties  of  organic  matter  by  which 
they  are  distinguished  from  inorganic  matter  and  on  w'hich 
their  connection  with  the  culture  of  farm  crops  depends,  are 
chiefly  the  following. 

They  are  all  easily  decomposed,  or  apparently  destroyed 
by  heat.  Starch,  sugar,  cotton  fiber,  straw  or  wood,  w  hen 
subjected  to  heat  or  flame,  turn  black  and  take  fire  and  are 
consumed.  This  is  true  of  all  vegetable  substances.  But 
clay,  sand  or  stone  cannot  be  thus  decomposed. 

They  putrefy  and  decompose  in  warm  moist  air,  and  after 
a  time  almost  wholly  disappear.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
inorganic  substance  which  is  not  subject  to  putrefactive  de- 
composition. 

They  consist  almost  wholly  of  two  or  more  of  the  few 
organic  elements  previously  described. 

They  cannot  be  formed  by  art.  Many  of  the  inorganic 
compounds  may  be,  and  have  been,  produced  in  the  chem- 


COMPOSITION   OF   VEGETABLE   MATTER.  35 

ist^s  labratory ;  but  no  chemist  has  yet  produced  starch  or 
T/oody  fiber,  or  sugar,  or  milk,  or  flesh,  by  jcombining  the 
elements  of  these  substances.  This  is  an  important  distinc- 
tion and  is  likely  to  exist  permanently ;  although  one  can- 
not safely  say  what  chemistry  may  not  be  able  to  perform 
in  the  direction  of  producing  these  articles  of  food,  and  of 
textile  fiber,  for  which  the  world  is  now  indebted  to  the  art 
of  agriculture,  and  so  make  the  farmers  labors  useless.  At 
present  it  is  easy  for  the  chemist  to  take  apart,  to  analyze , 
but  to  put  together  and  construct,  has  so  far  eluded  all  his 
skill,  excepting  in  a  very  few  instances. 

The  four  organic  elements  enter  into  the  constitution  ot 
plants  in  variable  proportions.  The  following  table  shows 
the  precise  quantity  of  each  element  contained  in  1000  parts 
by  weight  of  the  vegetable  substances  mentioned. 

Carbon.    Hydrogen.    Oxygen.      Nitrogen.      Ash. 

Hay  from  young  clover 

Oats 

Clover  seed 

Ripe  Hay '. 471 

Peas 

W^hcat 455 

Hay 

Potatoes...... 

The  above  named  products  were  dried  at  a  heat  of  230 
degrees,  sufficient  to  expel  all  the  moisture  from  them.  The 
<|uantity  of  water  thus  extracted  was  as  follows : 

1000  parts  of  potatoes.. lost 722  parts  of  water. 

"  "       wheat "  16G 

•'  "       early  cut  hay "  15S 

*'  "       late  hay "  140 

*'  "       oats "  151 

"  "       cloverseed "  112 

"  "       peas "    80 

A  large  quantity  cf  water  is  contained  in  the  crops  grown 
upon  farms  even  Avhcn  they  are  dried  for  use.  When  en- 
tirely free  from  water,  the  carbon  is  nearly  one-half  the 
weight ;  the  oxygen  is  more  than  one-third ;  the  hydrogen 
about  5  per  cent,  and  the  nitrogen  varies  from  IJ  to  7  per 
cent.;  the  variation  being  greater  than  that  of  any  other  of 
these  elements.      These  proportions  represent  very  nearly 


487 

CO 

369 

38 

40 

507 

64 

367 

22 

40 

494 

58 

350 

70 

28 

471 

56 

349 

24 

100 

465 

61 

401 

42 

31 

455 

57 

431 

34 

23 

458 

50 

387 

15 

90 

441 

58 

439 

12 

50 

36  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  relative  weights  in  which  the  organic  elements  enter  in- 
to combination  in  all  the  vegetable  products  which  are 
grown  for  the  support  of  animal  life. 

All  vegetable  products  contain  some  inorganic  matter 
which  remains  behind  in  the  form  of  ashes  w  hen  the  plants 
are  consumed  by  fire,  or  as  dust  when  they  aro  entirely  de- 
composed and  reduced  by  decay.  In  both  cases,  when  these 
operations  are  entirely  completed,  the  results  are  exactly 
the  same.  This  inorganic  remnant  varies  considerably; 
oats  leaving  but  4  per  cent.;  while  ripe  hay  leaves  10  per 
cent.;  but  each  variety  of  plant  contains  a  certain  propor- 
tion cf  inorganic  matter  which  is  pretty  nearly  constant 
and  is  peculiar  to  itself.  These  facts  are  exceedingly  im- 
portant in  the  practice  of  agriculture,  and  are  simply  no- 
ticed here,  coming  hereafter  under  special  consideration 
when  the  nature  of  soils  and  the  food  for  plants  are  under 
discussion. 

After  having  studied  the  character  of  the  organic  elements 
it  will  appear  very  clearly  that  they  will  not  enter  into  the 
substance  of  plants  in  their  natural  state,  or  as  they  exist 
free  and  uncombined  with  other  elements.  Carbon  is  a  solid 
substance  and  is  not  soluble  in  water;  and  as  plants  cannot 
take  up  anything  that  is  solid  into  their  circulation  and  tis- 
sue, but  only  matter  that  is  dissolved  in  w^ater,  or  which  is 
mixed  with  it  in  a  gaseous  form,  or  is  in  a  free  gaseous 
state,  it  is  clear  that  plants  cannot  derive  their  carbon  di- 
rectly from  the  element  itself,  as  it  exists  in  nature.  Hydro- 
gen does  not  occur  in  the  soil  or  in  the  atmosphere  in  a  free 
state  in  any  appreciable  quantity,  and  in  its  simple  condi- 
tion cannot  form  any  part  of  the  food  of  plants.  Oxygen 
and  nitrogen  exist  in  the  atmosphere  in  well  known  propor- 
ticns,  in  a  gaseous  state,  and  the  former  is  absorbed  or  in- 
haled under  certain  conditions  by  the  leaves  of  plants,  while 
it  ii  quite  possible  that  nitrogen  may  also  be  absorbed  in 
the  eanie  manEer.  But  while  it  is  known  thr.t  oxygen  is 
taken  up  by  the  leaves,  there  is  no  knowledge  that  nitrogen 
is ;  but  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  not.  These  two 
gases  are  slightly  soluble  in  water  and  may  occasionably  be 


DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  COMPOUNDS  AND  MIXTURES.      3/ 

tibsorbed  with  water  by  the  roots  of  crops ;  but  by  far  the 
hirgest  quantity  of  these  elements  enter  into  plants  in  the 
form  of  simple  or  complex  combinations,  or  chemical  com- 
pounds of  a  distinct  character,  and  these  being  absorbed  by 
the  plants,  are  separated '  or  decomposed ;  the  plants  then 
selecting  w^hat  they  require  for  their  subsistence,  and  re- 
jecting the  rest.  It  is  then  necessary  for  the  farmer  to  study 
not  only  the  nature  of  these  compounds,  but  the  laws  by 
which  their  combinations  are  regulated  and  the  manner  in 
■which  they  are  effected. 

The  difference  between  a  mixture  and  a  compound  has 
been  already  explained,  and  it  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind  in  considering  this  part  of  our  subject.  Combination 
is  not  a  mechanical  but  a  chemical  action,  and  results  ifl  a 
permanent  change  in  some  or  all  of  the  substances  employed ; 
decomposition  is  also  a  chemical  action,  and  results  also  in 
permanent  change  of  a  combined  substance  or  compound. 
When  sulphur,  a  solid  substance,  is  burned  in  the  air,  it  is 
converted  into  a  gas ;  which  is  a  compound  of  the  sulphur 
with  oxygen  from  the  air.  When  limestone  is  burned  in  a 
kiln  it  is  changed  into  lime,  which  is  quite  different  from 
the  original  stone.  This  is  a  case  of  chemical  decomposition 
for  the  limestone  is  a  compound  of  lime  and  carbonic  acid, 
and  the  acid  is  driven  off  by  the  heat,  and  the  lime  is  left 
remaining.  The  limestone  is  quite  neutral  and  inert ;  it  has 
no  action  upon  w^ater,  nor  any  taste ;  but  the  lime  is  strongly 
alkaline  and  will  effervesce  strongly  if  put  in  vinegar  or  any 
other  acid ;  if  put  into  water,  it  w^ill  combine  w^ith  it  and 
produce  great  heat,  and  it  will  destroy  any  organic  matter 
brought  into  contact  with  it. 

If  hydrogen  gas  is  burned  in  the  air  and  a  piece  of  cold 
glass  is  held  over  the  flame,  the  vapor  produced  by  the  un- 
ion of  the  two  gases,  is  condensed  into  drops  of  water  on  the 
glass.  It  is  thus  seen  by  these  examples  which  could  be 
extended  almost  infinitely ;  how  important  changes  in  matter 
are  produced  by  chemical  combinations  and  decompositions ; 
gases  are  combined  and  form  liquids  or  even  solids ;  liquids 
imd  solids  are  changed  to  gases;  mild  substances  become 


38  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

corrosive  and  destructive ;  and  corroding  substances  com- 
bined become  mild  and  innoxious. 

The  laws  which  regulate  chemical  action  are  precise  and 
inviolable,  and  the  elements  unite  with  each  other  only  in 
constant  and  definite  proportions.  We  can  mix  any  twa 
gases  together,  as  oxygen  and  hydrogen;  or  oxygen  and 
nitrogen,  in  any  proportion  we  please ;  but  we  cannot  com- 
bine them  except  in  strictly  definite  quantities.  We  can 
burn  a  pound  of  hydrogen  in  any  number  of  pounds  of  oxy- 
gen, but  the  hydrogen  will  unite  with  only  8  pounds  of  oxy- 
gen and  make  9  pounds  of  water ;  and  this  proportion  never 
varies.  We  can  discharge  an  electric  spark  in  a  jar  con- 
taining a  mixture  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  and  8  parts  by 
weight  of  the  oxygen  will  unite  with  14  parts  of  the  nitrogen 
and  form  an  oxide  of  nitrogen.  If  there  is  any  surplus  of 
nitrogen  it  will  be  left,  and  any  surplus  of  oxygen  will  re- 
main; only  so  much  of  either  will  combine  with  the  other,, 
and  no  more  and  no  less  under  w^hatever  circumstances  may 
exist.  Moreover,  the  very  same  proportion  in  which  any  two 
bodies  will  combine  with  each  other  is  precisely  the  same  in 
which  they  will  combine  w^ith  any  other.  Thus  1  pound  of 
hydrogen  combines  with  8  pounds  of  oxygen,  and  8  pounds 
of  oxygen  combines  with  14  pounds  of  nitrogen;  therefore 
1  pound  of  hydrogen  combines  with  14  pounds  of  nitrogen. 
These  numbers  are  known  as  the  combining  or  equivalent 
numbers ;  but  there  are  multiple  proportions  required  in 
some  cases  to  produce  definite  compounds ;  for  instance,  to 
produce  ammonia,  it  is  necessary  to  take  3  proportions  of 
hydrogen  to  1  of  nitrogen.  The  emblems  of  combinations 
or  the  mode  of  representing  them  is  by  using  the  initial  let- 
ter of  the  element  followed  in  case  of  multiple  proportions 
or  equivalents  by  a  small  figure.  Thus  N  H3.  represents 
one  proportion  of  nitrogen  or  14  (pounds)  and  3  propor- 
tions (pounds)  of  hydrogen,  making  17  pounds  of  ammonia. 

This  beautiful  law;  beautiful  in  its  precision  and  its 
simplicity  exemplifies  the  general  law  of  the  universe ;  which 
is,  order,  invariable  and  unchangeable.  This  regulates  not 
only  the  motions  of  the  planets,  the  earth,  moon  and  stars^ 


CHEMICAL  LAWS  INVARIABLE.  39 

around  the  sun ;  but  it  also  rules  the  formation  of  an  atom 
of  salt  from  its  component  parts ;  or  the  structure  of  the  mi- 
nute cells  of  a  plant.  Everything  in  nature  is  subservient 
to  this  unchanging  law,  that  certain  causes  produce  certain 
effects ;  which  are  constant  and  invariable  under  all  circum- 
stances. The  farmer  then  as  he  cultivates  his  soil  and 
watches  the  growth  of  his  crops,  knows  that  when  he  does 
his  part ;  which  is  to  prepare  the  soil  properly,  and  to  fur- 
nish whatever  is  required  to  fertilize  it  and  feed  the  growing 
plants ;  nature  provides  the  unfailing  rules  by  which  eifect 
is  given  to  his  work.  There  is  no  chance  or  uncertainty 
about  it ;  but  the  same  surety  that  the  results  will  appear  in 
due  time  as  that  the  sun  will  set  in  the  west  when  the  day 
is  done,  and  will  rise  in  due  time  to  the  fraction  of  a  second 
in  the  morning.  While  the  combinations  of  the  four  or- 
ganic elements  with  each  other  are  almost  endless,  there  are 
but  few  which  contribute  directly  to  the  growth  cf  plants. 
Of  these,  carbonic  acid,  nitric  acid,  ammonia  and  water,  are 
of  the  greatest  importance;  others  being  of  less  interest. 
The  atmosphere,  however,  which  is  a  mixture  of  the  two 
most  important  elements,  and  which  is  the  grand  purveyor 
of  vegetable  life,  contributing  from  90  to  95  per  cent,  of 
their  bulk  to  living  plants,  requires  careful  study  and 
notice. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTEK    VII. 

OF  THE  ATMOSPHERE. 

The  earth  is  surrounded  by  a  gaseous  body  known  as  the 
atmosphere  or  the  air,  which  is  supposed  to  extend  to  a 
height  of  forty-five  miles  above  its  surface.  The  actual 
height  however  is  indefinite  and  immeasurable,  because  be- 
ing a  gas,  the  air  is  capable  of  infinite  expansion,  according  to 
the  pressure  upon  it,  and  while  we  know  that  the  pressure 
at  the  earth's  surface  of  the  vast  mass  of  the  air  above  it  is 
equal  to  15  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  yet  as  the  height 
above  the  surface  increases,  the  pressure  decreases ;  and  as 
the  pressure  decreases,  the  air  expands,  therefore  the  exten- 
sion of  the  atmosphere  upwards  cannot  be  marked  by  any 
distinct  boundary,  but  gradually  fades  to  a  limit  which  can- 
not be  precisely  defined.  The  limit  however  of  45  miles  is 
suflSciently  precise  for  all  practical  purposes.  The  physical 
propeities  of  the  atmosphere  however,  are  of  the  greatest 
importance,  as  a  great  many  results  interesting  to  the  far- 
mer as  aflfecting  the  growth  of  his  crops  depend  upon  them. 

Air,  as  has  been  already  stated,  consists  of  79  parts  by 
bulk  of  nitrogen,  and  21  parts  by  bulk  of  oxygen;  or  by 
weight  77  parts  of  nitrogen  and  23  of  oxygen.  These  two 
gases  are  mixed  or  difiiised  together  according  to  a  law  by 
which  gases  mixed  together  become  evenly  or  uniformly 
(li Abused  or  mingled  with  each  other,  without  reference  to 
their  weight.  One  may  be  much  heavier  than  the  others, 
yet  it  will  diffuse  itself  perfectly  through  evers^  part  of  them. 
If  it  were  not  for  this  law  the  air  would  not  be  fit  to  sup- 
port life.  In  one  place  there  would  be  masses  of  pure  oxy- 
gen which  would  be  equally  destructive  of  life  as  the  masses 
of  pure  nitrogen  which  has  no  vital  qualities  at  all. 

This  law  of  diffusion  has  another  interesting  application 
as  regards  the  behavior  of  the  air,  and  moisture  in  the  soil. 


PROPERTIES   OF   THE   AIR.  41 

and  the  even  distribution  of  plant  food ;  but  this  will  be 
noticed  more  fully  hereafter. 

The  air  contains,  also  evenly  diffused  through  it,  a  very 
small  proportion  of  carbonic  acid.  This  averages  about 
one  part  by  bulk  to  every  2500  of  air ;  and  varies  slightly 
according  to  circumstances.  This  carbonic  acid  is  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  growth  of  plants,  inasmuch,  as  it 
is  from  this  source  chiefly,  that,  as  is  believed,  plants  derive  -, 
this  necessary  nutriment,  from  which  is  formed,  the  cellular 
tissue,  the  starch,  sugar,  gum  and  fats,  which  they  contain, 
and  which  makes  up  so  large  a  portion  of  their  dry  sub- 
stance. 

The  air  also  contains  a  varying  quantity  of  watery  vapor 
diffused  through  it,  amounting  to  1  per  cent,  of  its  weight 
on  an  average  of  season  and  locality.  This  proportion  is 
largest  in  summer,  increasing  with  the  temperature,  and 
least  in  the  winter ;  thus  supplying  the  crops  in  their  growl- 
ing season  out  of  the  abundance  gathered  up  for  their  sup- 
port ;  as  well  as  to  moderate  the  heat.  This  moisture  is 
condensed  as  the  temperature  is  reduced,  and  forms  clouds, 
which,  floating  in  the  air,  shade  and  protect  the  earth  from 
the  too  ardent  rays  of  the  sun,  and  at  night  they  reflect  the 
heat  which  is  radiated  from  the  earth's  surface,  the  loss  of 
which  in  cloudless  countries  cau:3es  intense  cold  in  the  night, 
following  equally  intense  heat  at  midday,  when  nothing  in- 
tervenes to  intercept  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun. 

The  air  also  contains  varying  quantities  of  matter  con- 
tributed by  decaying  organic  substances  and  from  the  dry 
soil;  as  ammonia  evolved  from  putrefying  plants;  decaying 
leaves,  and  decomposing  dead  animals,  and  the  excrements 
of  living  ones,  and  dust  from  this  dried  debris  of  animal 
life.  A  ray  of  light  or  a  sunbeam  passing  through  a  crev- 
ice into  a  darkened  room,  shows  this  contribution  to  the 
atmosphere — which  is  not  without  its  use  and  importance  to 
vegetable  life — in  a  myriad  of  particles  which  glisten  as  they 
float  in  the  light. 

Air,  like  all  other  matter,  has  weight.  This  was  first 
discovered  about  200  years  ago.     A  cubic  foot  of  air  weighs 


42  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

538  grains,  or  more  than  an  ounce,  and  the  air  con- 
tained in  a  room  40  feet  square  and  18  feet  high  will  weigh 
a  ton.  The  weight  of  the  air,  the  ease  with  which  a  gas  is 
moved,  and  the  fact  that  the  pressure  of  the  weight  is  ex- 
erted in  all  directions,  tend  to  force  it  into  every  vacancy, 
and  to  diffuse  itself  everywhere.  Every  pore  and  interstice 
of  the  soil  is  filled  with  it.  There  it  yields  up  its  oxygen  to 
dead  matter  and  quickly  converts  it  into  plant  food;  it 
carries  with  it  its  carbonic  acid  upon  which  the  roots  seize 
and  convey  it  into  the  tissues  of  the  plants,  where  it  is  elab- 
orated into  new  cells  and  the  starch  which  fills  them.  Like 
all  other  gases  it  expands  with  heat  and  contracts  with  cold. 
Every  change  of  temperature  therefore  expels  a  portion  of 
the  air  from  the  soil  or  impels  a  portion  to  enter  it.  Thi& 
causes  a  constant  current  and  change  by  Avhich  the  air  is 
renewed  and  that  vitiated  by  the  loss  of  its  useful  properties 
is  replaced  by  a  fresh  supply.  Every  shower  of  rain  expels 
it  from  the  soil,  and  as  the  water  sinks  to  lower  depth,  the 
atmospheric  pressure  forces  air  again  into  the  vacant  spaces. 
All  this  has  a  most  beneficial  effect  upon  vegetation,  the  re- 
sults of  which  are  to  be  considered  hereafter. 

This  vast  body  of  air,  like  the  watery  ocean,  has  its  tides^ 
its  great  currents,  and  its  storms,  which  keep  it  in  j^erpetual 
motion.  AVhen  the  farmer  hies  to  his  field  in  the  summer 
morning,  the  gentle  zephyr  fans  his  cheek.  In  the  season 
of  storms  the  boisterous  gale  beats  him  from  his  path  and 
forces  him  to  take  shelter.  All  these  motions  serve  to  mix 
the  air;  to  purify  the  centers  of  corruption;  and  bring  ta 
them  renewed  springs  of  health  and  vigor.  If  one  could 
float  upon  the  surface  of  the  atmosphere,  great  waves  would 
be  seen  coursing  over  the  vast  aerial  ocean.  These  extend 
for  thousands  of  miles ;  have  many  miles  of  elevation  and 
their  courses  extend  across  oceans  and  continents.  These 
enormous  waves  and  the  following  depressions,  necessarilly 
changs  the  pressure  of  the  air  on  the  -surface  of  the  earth, 
and  are  marked  by  a  change  of  the  barometer.  The  result 
is  an  increased  pressure  under  the  wave  with  a  rise  in  the 
barometer;  and  a  decreased  pressure  under  the  depression 


CAUSES   OF    RAIN.  43- 

or  trough  of  the  wave  with  a  fall  in  the  barometer.  This 
indicates  the  approach  of  wind.  The  high  pressure  under  the 
wave  forces  the  air  to  the  center  of  the  depression  and  the 
winds  blow  from  all  quarters  to  restore  the  pressure.  Thus 
with  every  wave  which  ruffles  the  surface  of  the  vast  ocean 
above  us,  currents  are  set  in  motion  around  us,  and  the  air 
is  never  still. 

The  watery  vapor  suspended  in  the  air  is  affected  by  this 
oscillation  of  pressure  to  some  extent ;  but  far  more  by  the 
changes  of  temperature.  When  the  air  is  heated,  evaporation 
from  the  ocean  and  the  land  is  active,  and  the  atmosphere 
is  charged  with  moisture.  A  wave  rising  in  the  north  with 
a  depression  in  the  south,  brings  a  cold  wind.  This  strikes 
the  warm  moisture — laden  air,  and  the  vapor  is  condensed 
in  clouds.  The  condensation  increases  with  the  fall  of  tem- 
perature ;  the  clouds  become  heavy  and  black,  and  soon  the 
pattering  rain  drops  fall  upon  the  thirsty  soil,  refresh  the 
crops  and  gladden  the  husbandman.  Or  the  friction  of  the 
cool  current  passing  over  a  warmer  one,  engenders  elec- 
trical disturbance,  w^hen  the  lightnings  flash  and  suddenly 
condense  the  gathered  vapor,  and  the  thunder  showers  pour 
down  amid  the  deafening  crashes  and  reverberations. 

All  these  facts  of  surpassing  interest  and  which  explain 
so  simply  the  causes  of  these  phenomena,  are  based  upon  a 
series  of  natural  laws,  which  are  as  beautiful  as  they  are 
wonderful,  and  they  have  been  unfolded  by  science  within 
a  few  years  past.  Our  fathers  knew  nothing  of  them,  and 
vainly  imagined  causes  for  them.  But  we  knowing  them, 
find  ever  new  delights  in  their  contemplation.  We  see 
that  the  vegetable  worlel  is  derived  in  greater  part  from  the 
air,  and  consists  of  condensed  gases  that  have  been  reduced 
from  the  atmosphere  by  the  agency  of  the  sun's  heat. 
Animals  which  derive  all  the  materials  of  their  structure 
from  plants,  destroy  these  w^hile  living  by  respiration,  and 
when  dead  by  decomposition,  and  return  them  in  gaseous 
form  to  the  air  again,  whence  they  were  taken.  Thus  the 
offices  of  plants  and  animals  neutralize  each  other ;  the  one 
takes  the  materials  for  its  substance  from  the  air  and  builds. 


44  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

up  its  varied  and  beautiful  organisms ;  the  other  consumes 
these  and  undoes  the  work  so  performed,  and  pours  back 
into  the  air,  the  materials  for  a  new  generation  of  plants. 
And  so  the  cycle  is  completed ;  but  it  never  ends,  because 
with  each  completed  round  a  new  round  begins. 


THE   PROPERTIES   OF   WATER. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WATER.— ITS  RELATION  TO  VEGETABLE  GROWTH. 

AVater  is  a  compound  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  the 
proportion  of  8  parts  by  weight  of  the  former  to  1  part  of 
the  latter:  and  by  volume  or  bulk  of  1  part  of  oxygen  to  2 
of  hydrogen.  It  is  more  universally  diffused  throughout 
nature  than  any  other  chemical  com[)ound,  and  performs 
the  most  important  functions  in  regard  to  animal  and  veg- 
etable life  Its  remarkable  properties  are  most  wonderfully 
adapted  to  the  existing  condition  of  things  and  offer  to  the 
farmer  and  student  of  natural  science  the  most  interesting 
subjects  for  study  and  experiment. 

It  exists  in  the  3  forms;  a  solid,  as  ice ;  a  liquid  in  its  com- 
mon form;  and  a  gas;  as  steam  or  watery  vapor.  At  32 
degrees  of  temperature  it  becomes  ice  and  remains  solid ; 
at  any  higher  temperature  it  melts  and  becomes  liquid  and 
at  212  degrees  it  changes  to  a  gas,  which  continues  to  ex- 
pand under  the  influence  of  increasing  heat.  Steam  is  1700 
times  lighter  and  more  bulky  than  water  and  is  a  little 
more  than  half  as  heavy  (sixty-two  one  hundredths)  as  air. 
It  therefore  rises  quickly  and  becomes  diffused  through  the 
air.  Liquid  water  is  815  times  heavier  than  air  and  a 
cubic  foot  of  it  weighs  62  J  pounds. 

Water  in  the  form  of  ice  and  snow  has  an  important  ac- 
tion upon  the  soil  and  consequently  affects  considerably  the 
interests  of  the  farmer. 

In  the  act  of  freezing — which  is  a  process  of  ciystallization 
— water  expands  in  bulk  about  one-eleventh.  This  expan- 
sive force  is  irresistible,  because  water  is  incompressible  and 
cannot  be  reduced  in  bulk  by  any  amount  of  pressure  which 
can  be  applied  to  it.  A  very  small  quantity  of  water  tliat 
may  be  absorbed  by  rocks,  in  expanding  as  it  freezes,  bursts 
asunder  the  particles  of  the  stone  and  these  flake  off  and 
form  soil.     In  the  soil  a  similar  action  goes  on.     The  water 


46  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

•contained  among  the  particles  of  the  soil  expands  and  loos- 
ens these  particles  and  separates  them  from  each  other. 
When  the  soil  is  thawed  by  returning  warmth,  a  thin  crust 
is  loosened  from  each  clod  and  fragment  and  falls  apart 
into  exceedingly  fine  particles,  and  as  the  warmth  penetrates 
the  mass  this  gradually  crumbles  down  and  forms  a  larger 
bulk  of  fine  porous  earth.  Moreover  the  particles  of  soil 
themselves  are  ruptured ;  stones  are  gradually  disintegrated, 
and  new  soil  is  made;  and  these  particles  are  thus  subjected 
to  the  solvent  action  of  the 'water  of  the  soil  by  which  fresh 
plant  food  is  liberated  and  the  soil  is  enriched.  This  effect 
is  the  more  remarkable  when  we  learn  that  one  single  cubic 
inch  of  clay  when  reduced  to  fine  particles  by  the  action  of 
frost  presents  in  the  aggregate  superficial  areas  of  the  frag- 
ments, a  surface  of  at  least  100  square  inches.  The  bene- 
ficial effect  of  this  result  of  freezing  upon  the  soil  is  of 
incalculable  value  to  the  farmer,  both  as  regards  the  me- 
chanical condition  of  the  soil  and  its  fertility.  On  clay  soils 
both  of  these  effects  are  produced  to  the  greatest  extent. 

In  the  form  of  snow  too  Avater  exerts  a  considerable  effect 
which  is  beneficial  to  the  farmer.  The  snow  is  exceedingly 
porous,  being  made  up  of  a  mass  of  crystals  formed  like  6 
rayed  stars,  which  lie  very  loosely  upon  each  other.  The 
interstices  contain  air  and  act  as  a  non-conductor  of  heat, 
and  as  a  protection  against  the  severity  of  the  cold,  and 
also  against  sudden  changes  of  temperature.  In  very,  cold 
countries,  the  snow  covering  the  soil  early  in  the  winter, 
prevents  the  freezing  of  it  altogether,  and  tender  plants  such 
as  potatoes,  often  remain  green  under  the  snow  the  whole 
winter,  without  injury  in  the  warm  soil.  Such  a  climate 
obviously  favors  very  much  the  successful  growth  of  winter 
grain.  Snow  has  also  the  power  of  absorbing  ammonia, 
oxygen,  and  nitrogen  from  the  air.  Ammonia  held  in  the 
snow  is  gradually  taken  in  by  the  soil  and  is  not  lost  as 
when  it  is  brought  down  by  rain,  which  not  only  carries  it 
off  in  floods,  but  also  washes  a  more  considerable  quantity 
of  it  from  the  soil  into  brooks  and  rivers.  The  air  which  is 
held  in  the  open  spaces  in  the  snow  holds  only  17  per  cent. 


SOLVENT   POV/ER   OF   WATER.  47 

of  oxygen,  against  21  per  cent,  in  the  ordinary  atmosphere; 
the  difference  being  absorbed  by  the  snow,  is  carried  into 
the  soil  with  the  water  as  the  snow  melts  and  thus  conveys 
to  the  roots  an  additional  supply  of  this  vitalizing  element. 

In  its  fluid  condition,  water  is  the  vehicle  by  which  all 
nutriment  of  whatever  kind,  is  carried  into  the  circulation  of 
plants.  It  is  itself  a  most  important  nutritive  element — 
food  in  fact — for  all  plants  and  animals,  forming  about 
three-fourths  of  their  substance  and  weight.  It  thus  softens 
all  tissue  and  gives  it  elasticity  and  strength.  It  is  a  uni- 
versal solvent;  and  thus  brings  to  the  roots  of  plants  ^7hat- 
«ver  nutriment  is  needed  in  such  a  form  that  it  can  be  taken 
into  their  tissues.  It  dissolves  about  one-thirty-sixth  part  of 
its  volume  of  air;  and  this  air  contains  10  per  cent,  more 
oxygen  than  other  air.  It  also  contains  from  two  to  twelve 
times  as  much  carbonic  acid  as  the  ordinary  air.  One 
hundred  volumes  of  water  absorb  directly  3.55  of  oxygen ; 
1.53  of  hydrogen;  1,47  of  nitrogen;  l06  of  carbonic,  acid, 
or  7800  of  ammonia.  In  this  property  we  see  how  plants 
may  derive  the  large  supply  of  carbonic  acid  which  they 
need  for  the  structure  of  their  carbonaceous  tissue ;  and  a 
large  proportion  of  their  nitrogen  which  may  thus  be  pro- 
cured from  the  dissolved  ammonia. 

Water  is  never  pure.  As  an  example  of  its  solvent  power 
over  solid  mineral  substances  the  following  analysis  of  the 
water  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  given. 

Specific  gravity  of  the  water 1.172 

Chloride  of  sodium  (salt) 0702.73    grains. 

Chloride  of  potassium 682.63 

Chloride  of  ammonium 3.35 

Chloride  of  lime 1376.75 

Chloride  of  magnesia 4457.23 

Chloride  of  aluminium 31.37 

Chloride  of  iron 1.50 

Chloride  of  manganese 3.35 

Bromide  of  soda 156.53 

Iodide  of  soda trace 

Sulphate  of  potassium trace 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia trace 

Sulphate  of  lime 38.07 

Phosphate  of  soda trace 

■Carbonate  of  lime 


48  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Silver 

Copper 

Lead 

Arsenic 

Silica 

Bitumen 

Organic  matter 34.59 

Total  in  one  gallon   13489.17  grains. 

Per  cent.        19.73 

The  water  of  springs,  wells  and  rivers  is  thus  never  pure^ 
but  holds  in  solution  more  or  less  of  solid  substances.  Hence 
we  find  that  land  watered  by  irrigation  from  rivers  produces 
much  larger  crops  than  that  watered  by  rain ;  also  that  land 
that  has  been  or  is  periodically  overflowed  by  floods,  becomes 
exceedingly  fertile.  Even  rain  water  is  not  pure  except  in 
the  wettest  seasons,  when  the  atmosphere  has  been  washed 
clean  from  its  impure  matter  which  is  brought  down  by  the 
showers.  In  this  way  a  large  quantity  of  solid  fertilizing 
matter,  as  well  as  of  fertilizing  gases,  is  brought  within  reach 
of  the  roots  of  the  plants  by  the  rain  which  is  absorbed  by 
the  soil.  The  water  also  dissolves  matter  from  the  soil  and 
presents  it  to  the  roots  in  such  a  condition  that  it  can  be 
absorbed  and  utilized  as  nutriment. 

These  facts  prove  how  indispensable  it  is  that  the  soil  should 
be  brought  by  thorough  culture,  and  the  use  of  the  most  perfect 
implements,  into  such  a  condition  of  porosity  and  mellowness 
that  the  water  may  be  absorbed  and  held  in  it  and  not  flow  off^ 
from  the  surface  and  carry  away  into  the  streams,  not  only  all 
its  own  burden  of  rich  fertilizing  matter  but  also  rob  the  i^oil 
of  a  large  j)ortion  of  its  own  possession. 

The  solvent  power  of  water  is  increased  by  heat,  in  regard 
to  nearly  all  tiubFtr.nces  excepting  lime  and  ammonia  which 
are  dissolved  r.nd  absorbed  by  cold  water  more  readily  than 
by  warm.  This  property  will  be  further  explained  in  a 
future  chapter  on  heat. 

Water  has  a  strong  aflinity  for  various  substances,  indeed 
it  exists  in  a  greater  or  less  proportion  in  almost  all  solid 
bodies  and  in  every  crystallized  substance ;  forming  in  these 
cases  what  is  known  as  "the  water  of  crystallization." 

When  limestone  is  burned,  water  and  carbonic  acid  are 


DECOMPOSITION   OF    WATER.  49 

driven  off  by  the  heat  and  lime  remains.  (This  lime  is  the 
oxide  of  the  metal  calcium.)  When  lime  is  brought  into 
contact  with  moisture,  about  one-third  of  its  weight  of  water 
is  absorbed  and  the  lime,  swells,  breaks  apart  and  falls  into 
a  very  fine  powder  which  is  perfectly  dry.  This  water  is 
combined  with  the  lime  and  cannot  be  expelled  at  less  than 
a  red  heat.  Gypsum  contains  in  the  same  manner  21  per 
cent,  of  water;  alum  contains  24  parts  of  water  to  two  of 
solid  matter  ;  Epsom  salts  contain  50.2  per  cent,  of  water ; 
and  so  on  through  a  long  list  of  crystallized  minerals.  It 
has  also  a  strong  affinity  for  clay  and  all  the  more  so,  as  the 
clay  is  finely  pulverized  and  disintegrated ;  carbonized  veg- 
etable matter  also  takes  up  a  large  quantity  of  water ;  hence 
the  great  advantage  of  securing  as  large  a  quantity  of  de- 
cayed organic  matter,  as  may  be  possible  in  the  soil. 

This  is  quite  distinct  from  the  mechanical  grasp  upon 
water  exerted  by  porous  substances,  which  merely  hold  it 
in  its  interstices  by  capillary  attraction,  as  is  the  case  with 
a  sponge,  and  give  it  out  again  with  great  facility  and  with- 
out any  chemical  action. 

The  elements  of  water  are  held  together  loosely  and  are 
combined  with  great  ease.  When  hydrogen  is  burned  in 
the  air  it  combines  with  oxygen  (as  has  been  previously 
described)  and  forms  water.  If  a  piece  of  zinc  is  placed  in 
a  vessel  of  water — a  glass  bow  1  or  a  wide  mouthed  bottle, 
for  instance — and  a  little  sulphuric  acid  (a  few^  drops)  is 
added,  the  water  is  in  part  decomposed  and  the  hydrogen 
is  set  free.  As  this  experiment  is  a  pleasing  one  and  very 
simple,  the  chemical  operation  is  here  explained.  The  sul- 
phuric acid  acts  upon  the  zinc  and  combines  with  it ;  but 
as  this  acid  has  only  three  equivalents  of  oxygen  (S.  O3) 
and  zinc  requires  one  more  equivalent  to  make  the  combin- 
ation as  sulphate  of  zinc  (Z.  S.O4)  this  excess  of  oxygen  is 
taken  from  the  water,  leaving  the  hydrogen  free,  when  it 
escapes  in  bubbles  apparently  from  the  surface  of  the  zinc. 
If  the  bottle  is  corked  and  a  glass  or  rubber  tube  is  put 
through  the  cork,  the  hydrogen  gas  may  be  collected.  But 
as  it  is  explosive  when  mixed  with  air,  great  care  must  be 


50  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

exercised  in  igniting  the  gas,  and  the  first  ^yhich  is  set  free 
should  be  permitted  to  escape  until  the  air  has  been  all  car- 
ried off. 

Water  undergoes  continual  decomposition  and  recombi- 
nation in  the  interior  of  plants  and  animals.  As  a  fluid  it 
finds  its  way  into  every  cell  and  pore  and  passes  out  by 
transpiration  after  it  has  given  up  to  the  tissues  the  matter 
wliich  is  extracted  from  it.  And  so  slight  is  the  hold  which 
its  elements  have  upon  each  other,  and  so  strong  is  their 
affinity  for  other  elements,  that  they  are  ready  to  separate 
upon  very  slight  impulses ;  the  oxygen  forming  compounds 
with  one  and  the^  hydrogen  Avith  others,  as  the  production 
of  the  various  substances  of  which  the  plants  form  them- 
selves, require-and  demand.  And  when  the  nature  of  chem- 
ical combinations  begins  to  be  understood,  there  is  no  more 
wonderful  fact  in  the  study  of  vegetable  physiology  than 
the  great  variety  of  changes  which  are  continually  going 
on  through  the  agency  of  the  elements  of  water  and  others 
which  it  conveys  into  the  tissues  of  plants  and  animals. 

In  the  state  of  vapor  too,  water  exerts  a  very  potent  in- 
fluence upon  the  life  and  growth  of  farm  crops.  Vapor 
escapes  from  water  into  the  air,  or  is  absorbed  by  the  air, 
not  only  at  boiling  heat,  but  at  all  temperatures.  Even  at 
a  zero  temperature  the  air  takes  up  water,  as  is  known  by 
the  housewife  whose  linen  freezes  dry  in  the  cold,  crisp, 
wintry,  air.  A  piece  of  ice  exposed  to  the  air  in  the  coldest 
weather  gradually  evaporates  and  disappears.  It  is  how- 
ever in  the  summer  that  the  evaporation  of  water  is  most  active; 
and  it  is  then  that  the  efiects  of  the  condensation  of  the  at- 
mospheric moisture  is  most  perceptible  and  useful.  Dew  is  the 
product  of  this  condensation.  The  air  charged  with  the  vapor 
which  has  been  gathered  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  is 
cooled  at  night  by  contact  with  the  soil,  from  which  the 
heat  is  rapidly  lost  by  radiation.  The  cooling  of  the  air 
causes  the  moisture  to  condense,  forming  sometimes  visible 
vapor,  seen  in  the  evening  and  night  fogs  which  prevail  in 
some  localities ;  but  always  a  burden  of  moisture  which  is 
too  heavy  to  be  suspended  in  the  air.     This  moisture  then 


FORMATION   OF   DEW.  51 

falls  and  settles  in  fine  globules  upon  the  vegetation,  the 
soil,  and  upon  all  other  objects  which  have  been  sufiiciently 
cooled.  This  process  goes  on  mostly  at  night,  but  constantly 
at  other  times  when  the  temperature  falls,  and  especially  in 
the  soil,  in  which  with  the  constant  circulation  of  air  (prev- 
iously described)  there  is  always  the  accompanying  mois- 
ture ;  which  is  condensed  and  deposited  in  the  interstices 
and  so  supplies  the  demands  of  the  plants.  The  more  com- 
pletely the  soil  is  made  fine  and  pulverized  the  larger  is  the 
deposit  of  atmospheric  moisture. 

This  behavior  of  water  under  the  beautiful  and  compre- 
hensive laws  to  which  it  is  subject,  affords  an  instance  of  the 
provident  as  well  as  bountiful  operations  of  nature.  Every 
one  of  these  operations  tend  towards  the  good  of  mankind. 
It  is  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  who  reaps  the  benefits  of  these 
Tiniversal  and  beneficent  laws.  Yet  the  rewards  are  not 
given  to  all  alike.  AVe  are  told  that  the  rains  descend,  the 
dews  are  distilled  and  the  sun  shines  upon  the  just  and  the 
unjust ;  upon  the  industrious  as  well  as  the  idle  and  neglect- 
fa\.  An  impartial  and  kind  Providence  offers  these  bene- 
fits with  an  open  and  generous  hand ;  overflowing  with  good 
to  mankind.  But  Providence  does  nothing  more.  The 
farmer  who  avails  himself  of  these  invaluable  gifts  and  does 
his  part  by  studying  the  nature  of  them  and  their  adaptation 
for  his  purposes ;  and  thus  adapts  them  with  skill  and  in- 
dustry to  the  preparation  cf  the  soil  and  the  culture  of  his 
crops,  gains  the  highest  rewards.  The  prizes  are  his ;  but 
the  blanks  in  the  distribution  are  for  those  who  neglect 
these  grand  provisions  and  refuse  to  avail  themselves  of  them. 
It  is  "the  hand  of  the  diligent  which  maketh  rich:"  the 
neglectful  careless  tiller  of  the  soil  has  no  promise  of  wealth 
from  the  free  gifts  of  nature ;  these  are  for  the  farmer  who 
uses  every  possible  means  to  secure  these  gifts  by  the  prac- 
tice of  an  intelligent  and  effective  culture  of  crops. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

HEAT  AND  COLD.— THEIR  INFLUENCE  UPON  MATTER 
AND  VEGETATION. 

Heat  and  cold  are  merely  relative  terms.  Cold  is  a  low- 
degree  or  absence  of  heat,  just  as  darkness  is  the  absence  of 
light,  and  has  not  in  any  sense,  or  in  fact,  any  specific  ex- 
istence, as  separate  from  heat.  It  is  only  quite  recently 
that  the  nature  of  heat  has  been  understood.  It  was  for- 
merly supposed  to  be  an  element,  a  subtle  fluid  to  which  the 
name  Caloric  was  given ;  and  whose  entrance  into  a  body 
produced  warmth  and  whose  loss  produced  cold.  As  some 
bodies,  such  as  marble,  felt  cold  and  others,  as  wool,  felt 
warm,  it  was  believed  that  various  substances  contained  less 
or  more  of  this  fluid  stored  up  in  its  interstices  according  to 
their  varying  capacities.  It  was  given,  in  fact,  all  the 
properties  of  a  gas  with  some  others  which  were  believed  to 
belong  to  it  specifically.  This  ancient  notion  was  exploded 
when  it  was  discovered  that  heat  was  simply  the  effect  of 
motion  of  the  particles  of  a  body,  and  that  the  intensity  of 
the  motion  determines  the  temperature. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  here  to  discuss  the  various  theories 
which  are  held  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  heat ;  these  may 
be  studied  in  special  works  on  the  subject  such  as  that  of 
Prof.  Tyndall.  It  is  most  important  for  us  to  consider  how 
it  affects  those  elementary  and  compound  bodies  which  have 
a  close  relation  to  the  growth  of  plants,  and  its  effects  upon  - 
germination  and  plant  growth.  It  will  be  sufficient  here 
perhaps  to  repeat  the  words  of  Dr.  Locke  uttered  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  in  which  the  true  idea  of  heat  was  enuncia- 
ted. He  said,  "heat  is  a  very  brisk  agitation  of  the  insen- 
sible parts  of  any  object  which  produces  in  us  that  sensation 
from  which  we  call  the  object,  hot;  so  that  what  in  our 
sensations  is  heat,  in  the  object  is  nothing  but  motion."     A 


LATENT   HEAT.  03 

familiar  instance  may  be  given.  If  a  person  slide  down 
from  an  elevated  place  by  means  of  a  rope  held  in  the 
hands  and  he  descends  rapidly  he  feels  a  burning  sensation 
in  his  hands  and  the  skin  is  blistered  precisely  the  same  as 
if  he  held  a  hot  iron  rod  in  his  hands.  This  heat  is  the  re- 
sult of  an  intense  vibration  of  the  fibers  of  the  muscles  and 
skin  of  the  hands ;  and  is  equal  in  degree  exactly  to  the  vi- 
bration of  the  particles  in  an  iron  rod  whose  heat  would 
cause  precisely  the  same  sensation  and  result  in  the  hands. 
To  study  the  relations  of  heat  with  intelligence  it  must  not 
be  regarded  as  a  thing,  but  as  a  condition  of  matter  and  an 
effect  of  the  change  of  a  condition. 

The  chief  source  of  heat  is  the  sun.  All  combustion  is  a 
source  of  heat,  and  as  we  have  seen,  combustion  is  a  chemi- 
cal effect.  Mechanical  force  is  also  a  source  of  heat;  and 
friction,  pressure,  or  any  other  result  of  force  is  accompanied 
by  heat.  Heat  once  produced  is  never  lost  or  destroyed :  it 
may  disappear  but  it  always  exists.  The  heat  of  the  sun 
communicated  to  the  earth  is  absorbed  in  various  ways,  that 
is  we  use  this  expression ;  but  in  truth  we  should  say  the 
force  is  communicated  to  every  object  brought  under  its 
influence.  It  is  absorbed  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean  and 
their  particles  move  and  separate  more  widely  apart  form- 
ing vapor. 

The  amount  of  force  (which  we  call  heat)  thus  commun- 
icated has  been  accurately  calculated.  If  we  take  an  ounce 
of  ice  at  32  degrees  and  one  of  water  at  174  degrees  and 
put  them  together,  the  ice  will  be  melted  and  there  will  be 
two  ounces  of  water;  but  the  temperature  will  be  only  32 
degrees.  Where  has  the  excess  of  142  degrees  of  heat  which 
has  been  apparently  lost  by  the  hot  water,  disappeared?  It 
has  not  been  lost  but  has  become  stored  up  in  the  water 
and  has  become  the  latent  or  hidden  heat  of  the  liquid. 
This  latent  heat  can  be  found  again  when  the  water  is  froz- 
en, for  in  the  formation  of  ice  precisely  142  degrees  of  heat 
are  given  out  by  the  water  in  the  gradual  change  of  the 
liquid  to  a  solid. 

In  the  same  way  when  water  is  changed  to  steam  a  very 


5-i  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

large  quantity  of  heat  is  rendered  latent  in  the  vapor. 
Water  at  32  degrees  absorbs  180  degrees  of  heat  and  reaches 
a  temperature  of  212  degrees  which  is  the  boiling  point. 
But  it  does  boil  only  slowly  and  steam  is  produced  very 
gradually.  It  is  found  that  if  the  consumption  of  one  pound 
of  coal  will  raise  a  quantity  of  water  from  32  degrees  to  212 
degrees;  5?  lbs.  more  will  be  required  to  change  it  all  to 
steam  of  the  same  temperature.  5  2  times  180  or  990 
units  of  heat  will  then  have  been  expended,  but  have 
not  been  lost ;  they  are  stored  in  the  steam  and  are  the 
latent  heat  of  the  vapor  of  water.  And  when  the  vapor 
of  w^ater  is  condensed  into  liquid  this  heat  is  given  out 
again. 

And  here  is  another  most  wonderful  instance  of  the  infinite 
wisdom  and  beneficent  adaptation  of  the  laws  of  nature  to 
the  stability  of  the  universe  and  the  comfort  and  happiness- 
of  mankind.  The  expansion  of  water  as  it  changes  into  ice 
has  been  already  mentioned.  This  is  one  more  effect  of 
heat,  that  is  a  reduction  of  it,  upon  this  liquid,  and  has  an 
intimate  connection  with  this  part  of  our  subject.  When 
water  reaches  its  maximum  density  which  is  39  degrees,  un- 
der the  influence  of  the  abstraction  of  heat,  it  then  begins 
to  increase  in  bulk  until  ice  crystals  form  when  the  total 
expansion  amounts  to  one-eleventh  of  the  bulk.  Conse- 
quently the  ice  floats  on  the  surface  and  after  a  time  it  be- 
comes thick  enough  to  protect  the  underlying  water  from 
the  effects  of  cold.  Were  it  otherwise,  ice  would  sink  to  the. 
bottom  and  as  the  surface  water  cooled  it  would  also  sink 
and  the  whole  water  would  soon  be  changed  into  ice.  The 
ocean  would  then  become  a  vast  bed  of  solid  ice,  which  by 
the  very  force  of  this  law  would  remain  permanently  and  re- 
sist all  the  heat  of  the  sun  to  change  it.  Then  the  earth 
would  be  uninhabitable.  No  green  blade  would  appear  on 
the  surface ;  no  animal  would  find  subsistence ;  there  would 
be  no  clouds,  no  rain ;  everything  would  be  cold  and  drear 
and  lifeless ;  a  dead  world. 

Again,  were  it  not  for  the  gradual  absorption  of  heat  by 
the  melting  ice  and  the  evaporating  water,  the  earth  would 


THE   FORCE   OF   HEAT.  .65 

be  destroyed  by  the  sudden  catastrophe  of  an  overwhelming 
flood  at  the  approach  of  every  spring.  The,  accumulated 
ice  and  snow  of  the  winter  would  be  changed  to  vast  bod^ 
ies  of  water  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  temperature  of  32 
degrees;  and  when  the  boiling  heat  should  be  reached,  the 
water  w^ould  change  into  steam  with  the  force  of  an  ex- 
plosion and  rend  everything  near  it  to  atoms.  Instead  of 
being  useful  to  man  it  would  be  a  most  destructive  agent, 
which  men  would  avoid  as  they  would  avoid  nitro-glycerine. 
The  contemplation  of  these  thoughts  gives  a  new  force 
and  interest  to  the  fact  that  "the  earth  was  given  to  man" 
and  truly  the  gift  was  perfectly  well  adapted  to  his  uses, 
and  for  his  enjoyment. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  force  equivalent  to  the  heat 
required  to  produce  9  lbs.  of  steam  at  212  degrees  by  the 
union  of  8  lbs.  of  oxygen  and  1  lb.  of-  hydrogen  is  equal  to 
that  represented  by  the  fall  of  a  ton  weight  down  a  preci- 
pice 22,320  feet  high :  to  change  this  vapor  into  liquid  a 
force  is  exerted  equal  to  that  of  the  fall  of  a  ton  down  2,900 
feet;  and  to  change  the  water  into  ice  the  force  is  equal  to  the 
descent  of  a  ton  down  433  feet.  And  yet  these  enormous  forces 
are  going  on  in  the  soil  and  in  the  tissues  of  delicate  plants> 
continually,  silently,  but  omnipotently;  without  any  out- 
ward indication.  Prof.  Tyndall  has  remarked  of  this  lat- 
ent force  hidden  in  a  drop  of  water,  "I  have  seen  the  Avild 
stone  avalanches  of  the  Alps;  which  thunder  and  smoke 
down  the  declivities  with  a  force  almost  sufficient  to  stun 
the  observer.  I  have  also  seen  snowflakes,  descending  so 
softly  as  not  toi  injure  the  fragile  spangles  of  which  they 
were  composed;  yet  to  produce  from  aqueous  vapor,  a  quan- 
tity of  that  tender  material  that  a  child  might  carry,  de- 
mands an  exertion  of  energy  competent  to  gather  up  the 
shattered  blocks  of  the  largest  avalanche  I  have  ever  seen 
and  to  pitch  them  to  twice  the  height  from  which  they 
fell."" 

Combustion  is  a  source  of  heat;  and  the  decay  of  organic 
substance  is  a  slow  combustion.  This  fact  is  exemplified  in 
the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter.     When  the  farmei* 


56  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

makes  a  heap  of  manure,  or  a  hot  bed,  the  mass  soon  begins 
to  heat  and  in  time  is  changed  from  its  previous  condition 
into  a  black  powdery  substance  having  no  resemblance  to 
vegetable  tissue.  The  heat  produced  by  the  chemical  ac- 
tion which  has  resulted  in  this  change  has  been  precisely 
equal  to  that  which  would  have  been  required  to  drive  off 
the  moisture;  set  free  the  gases;  and  reduce  the  matter  to 
its  mineral,  carbonaceous,  and  nitrogenous  elements  w^hich 
remain  in  the  mass.  In  like  manner  heat  is  produced 
by  every  chemical  change.  The  union  of  water  with  sul- 
phuric acid  is  accompanied  by  violent  heat;  so  is  the  solu- 
tion of  a  piece  of  copper  in  nitric  acid.  And  as  the  decom- 
position of  a  vegetable  cell  in  a  manure  heap  is  accompanied 
by  heat  so  is  its  decomposition  in  the  soil;  and  its  formation 
in  the  plant. 

The  effects  of  heat — and  cold — upon  the  soil  are  great 
and  varied.  It  is  the  sun's  heat,  penetrating  the  soil  which 
causes  the  germination  of  the  seed.  At  low  temperatures 
seeds  will  remain  in  the  soil  for  many  years  unchanged. 
The  heat  of  the  sun  does  not  penetrate  very  deeply  and  at 
a  very  moderate  depth  the  heat  of  the  soil  is  constant,  dur- 
ing summer  and  winter.  This  is  caused  by  the  effect  of 
evaporation,  as  well  as  by  the  nonconducting  property  of 
the  air  spaces  between  the  particles  of  the  soil.  Seeds  of 
weeds  and  plants  which  remain  at  some  depth  in  the  soil 
are  thus  kept  dormant  for  many  years,  starting  into  growth 
whenever  they  are  brought  under  the  influence  of  the 
warmth  of  the  sun's  rays. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  also  causes  the  evaporation  of  water 
from  the  soil  and  dries  it  and  makes  it  fit  for  the  labors  of 
the  farmer.  But  this  result  has  also  another  effect  which 
is  unfavorable.  It  cools  the  soil  and  reduces  the  temperature, 
and  when  the  soil  contains  an  excess  of  water  and  the  evap- 
oration is  copious,  this  cooling  is  exceedingly  hurtful  to  the 
crops.  There  are  soils  which  are  called  cold  clays;  and 
swampy  lands  are  always  cold  and  unproductive  of  the  bet- 
ter class  of  crops,  favoring  the  growth  of  mosses  and  ferns 
and  other  useless  plants.     This  is  due  to  the  constant  evap- 


THE  EFFECTS  OF  VARIATIONS  OF  TEMPERATURE.        57 

oration  from  the  surface.  To  change  the  water  into  vapor, 
has  been  shown  to  require  a  large  expenditure  of  heat;  and 
precisely  the  same  heat  is  drawn  from  the  soil  when  vapor 
rises  from  it  as  is  imparted  by  the  fuel  of  a  fire  which  pro- 
duces the  same  amount  of  evaporation.  This  heat  drawn 
from  the  soil  necessarily  reduces  its  temperature.  An  ex- 
periment which  exemplifies  this  result  may  be  made  as 
follows :  A  few  drops  of  ether  are  placed  upon  the  skin ; 
and  the  breath  is  blown  upon  it.  The  current  of  air  evap- 
orates the  volatile  ether  quickly,  and  causes  a  large  absorp- 
tion of  heat.  The  abstraction  of  the  heat  from  the  skin  to 
supply  this  requirement  of  the  evaporation  causes  a  sensa- 
tion of  cold  upon  the  skin.  This  is  precisely  the  effect  up- 
on the  soil,  when  the  warm  air  blowing  over  wet  clay  or 
swampy  land  causes  copious  evaporation  and  is  all  the 
greater  as  the  evaporation  is  excessive. 

This  effect  operates  to  relieve  persons  from  the  results  of 
excessive  heat.  AVhen  the  temperature  rises  to  90  degrees 
and  over,  the  animal  system  becomes  oppressed.  The  blood 
Avhose  normal  heat  is  98  degrees,  rises  in  temperature  and 
produces  serious  disturbance  of  the  nervous  system,  which  if 
not  relieved  quickly  ends  in  what  is  known  as  sunstroke, 
and  speedy  death.  But  the  evaporation  of  the  water  of  the 
system  in  the  form  of  perspiration  relieves  the  oppression; 
carries  off  the  heat ;  cools  the  blood  and  the  skin;  and  prevents 
the  fatal  results  of  the  unrelieved  heat.  When  an  incau- 
tious person  suddenly  plunges  into  cold  water,  or  drinks 
oold  water  to  excess,  the  pores  of  the  skin  are  closed  in  the 
one  case  and  a  chill  is  produced  in  the  other;  either  of 
which  checks  the  perspiration;  and  prevents  the  escape  of 
the  internal  heat;  when  fatal  results  are  often  produced. 
So  the  wearing  of  wet  clothes  abstracts  heat  from  the  body 
and  thus  produces  pernicious  effects;  while  the  use  of  wet 
sheets  in  which  fever  patients  are  wrapped;  rapidly  cools 
the  parched  skin ;  induces  natural  perspiration;  and  saves  the 
sufferer. 

The  abstraction  of  heat  by  evaporation  is  so  great  under 
some  circumstances  that  water  can  be  frozen  by  it.     This 


58  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

may  be  shown  by  a  simple  experiment.  A  shallow  vessel 
containing  sulphuric  acid  is  placed  in  another  containing 
water  and  both  are  placed  under  the  receiver  of  an  air 
pump.  When  the  air  is  exhausted  the  vapor  of  the  water 
is  so  rapidly  absorbed  by  the  acid  that  the  water  is  frozen. 
By  using  liquid  sulphurous  acid  which  evaporates  with  in- 
tense force,  and  pouring  it  into  a  red  hot  vessel,  and  then 
adding  w^ater,  the  water  is  suddenly  frozen  into  ice  under 
the  intense  cold  produced  by  the  rapid  evaporation  of  the 
acid. 

The  low^est  degree  of  cold  ever  produced;  220  degrees 
below  zero ;  was  by  means  of  the  vaporization  of  liquid  Y)yo- 
toxide  of  nitrogen  mixed  with  bisulphide  of  carbon  in  a  va- 
cuum. These  examples  however  are  not  of  practical  interest 
to  the  farmer  further  than  to  exemplify  the  vast  and  varied 
changes  produced  in  matter  by  heat  and  cold. 

The  same  kind  of  result  may  be  produced  by  the  sudden 
liquefaction  of  solids.  Thus  a  mixture  of  salt  and  ice 
causes  the  rapid  melting  of  the  ice  and  a  sufficient  reduction 
of  temperature  to  freeze  w^ater.  In  this  case  both  the  solids 
are  liquefied  and  the  effect  is  intensified.  The  cold  thus 
produced  is  40  below^  zero.  Four  ounces  of  sal  ammoniac 
and  the  same  quantity  of  saltpetre,  finely  powdered  and  dis- 
solved in  8  ounces  of  water,  will  cause  a  reduction  of  40' 
degrees  of  temperature;  and  powdered  Glauber's  salts, 
drenched  wdth  hydrochloric  acid,  will  sink  the  temperature 
from  50  degrees  to  zero.  These  mixtures  are  in  common 
use  as  the  so  called  freezing  mixtures.  The  newly  intro- 
duced ice  machines  by  which  ice  is  produced  at  a  cost  or 
one  dollar  per  ton,  are  operated  by  the  vaporization  of  am- 
monia in  the  gaseous  form  from  its  solution  in  water. 

A  very  useful  practical  application  of  the  liberation  of 
heat  by  freezing  is  that  often  used  to  evade  the  freezing  of 
the  contents  of  cellars  in  very  cold  w^eather,  by  placing  a 
pail  full  of  water  in  the  cellar.  The  w^ater  freezes  more  eas- 
ily than  any  other  liquid  or  solid  containing  liquid ;  as  fresh 
vegetables  and  fruits;  and  in  the  act  of  freezing  gives  out 
the  latent  heat  of  the  water  which  actuallv  warms  the  eel- 


EFFECTS   OF    EVAPORATION   ON   CLIMATE.  5^ 

lar.  For  the  same  reason  the  coolness  of  the  early  winter 
is  subdued  and  greatly  modified  by  the  heat  given  out  by 
large  bodies  of  water  in  the  act  of  freezing;  and  in  this  way 
lakes  and  rivers,  as  well  as  the  ocean,  have  a  very  import-^ 
ant  influence  upon  the  climate  of  adjacent  localities.  Late 
frosts  are  avoided  and  the  intense  cold  is  delayed  until  later 
in  the  winter.  This  fact  has  given  rise  to  the  common 
adage,  "As  the  days  begin  to  lengthen,  the  cold  begins  to- 
strengthen,"  by  which  is  meant  that  the  cold  does  not  be- 
come severe  until  the  beginning  of  the  new  year,  when  the 
waters  and  the  ground  have  become  frozen  and  all  their 
latent  heat  has  been  given  out. 

The  heats  of  the  summer  are  also  much  reduced  in  in- 
tensity by  the  excessive  evaporation  from  bodies  of  water  and 
from  cultivated  soil.  It  has  been  found  that  the  climate  of  the 
great  western  plains  has  been  favorably  modified  by  the  in- 
troduction of  irrigation  and  the  breaking  up  of  the  vast 
areas  of  dry  prairie  which  have  been  brought  under  tillage. 
Evaporation  of  the  water  thus  used,  or  gathered  in  the  por- 
ous soil  by  the  rains,  which  are  absorbed  instead  of  flowing 
as  heretofore,  from  the  dry  hard  surface  in  vast  sheets  and 
floods  to  the  nearest  stream,  both  cools  and  moistens  the 
air;  supplies  the  vapor  for  clouds  which  shade  the  soil  and 
temper  the  sun's  rays,  and  which  in  turn  descend  again  to 
the  soil  whence  they  came  in  genial  cooling  showers.  This 
ia  a  remarkable  instance  of  how  man's  industry  modifies- 
climate  by  changing  the  natural  conditions  prevailing  and 
so  fits  the  earth  for  his  occupation  and  use. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    X. 

CARBONIC  ACID.— ITS    PROPERTIES    AND  FUNCTIONS 
IN  PLANT  GROWTH. 

Carbonic  acid  is  one  of  the  three  materials  which  together 
form  the  starting  point  of  vegetable  growth ;  the  others  be- 
ing water  and  nitric  acid.  This  acid  is  formed  of  carbon 
and  oxygen  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  of  the  former  to 
two  of  the  latter  chemically  combined.  It  is  a  colorless  gas, 
having  an  acid  taste  and  smell;  is  soluble  in  water;  weighs 
one-half  more  than  air  and  can  be  poured  from  one  vessel 
to  another,  as  a  liquid  may  be;  100  parts  of  water  dissolve 
106  parts  of  this  gas,  and  it  is  from  this  source  that  the  roots 
■of  plants  derive  the  needed  supplies  of  it. 

It  is  produced  by  the  combustion  of  carbon  in  the  atmos- 
phere; when  it  unites  with  oxygen  in  the  proportions  men- 
tioned. An  easy  way  to  produce  it  is  to  burn  charcoal  on 
an  open  hearth.  In  a  close  room  this  combustion  takes  the 
oxygen  from  the  atmosphere  and  fills  the  whole  space  with 
carbonic  acid.  This  necessarily  is  a  dangerous  proceeding 
and  at  times  causes  fatal  results,  by  the  keeping  of  char- 
<Joal  fires,  or  even  coal  fires,  in  poorly  ventilated  apart- 
ments. 

This  gas  is  wholly  unable  to  support  life  and  when  exist- 
ing in  an  excessive  proportion  in  the  air  not  only  destroys 
animal  life,  but  is  also  fatal  to  vegetable  existence.  Neither 
will  it  support  combustion.  Fire  is  extinguished  by  it;  but 
when  mixed  with  certain  proportions  of  hydrogen  it  be- 
comes inflammable,  and  even  explosive  when  mixed  with 
air.  It  forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  rocks  in  combina- 
tion with  various  mineral  elements.  One  of  the  most  com- 
mon of  the  rocks, — limestone,  and  of  which  marble  is  one 
form,  contains  44  per  cent,  of  it  and  can  be  separated  from 
it  by  the  action  of  an  acid  or  by  burning.     If  a  small  quan- 


CARBONIC  ACID  A  FOOD  FOR  PLANTS.        61 

tity  of  powdered  marble  be  placed  in  any  vessel  and  strong 
vinegar,  or  any  acid,  is  poured  upon  it,  active  effervescence 
ensues  and  the  carbonic  acid  is  given  off  copiously.  Chalk 
is  a  common  form  of  this  combination  of  lime  and  carbonic 
acid,  the  union  of  which  forms  carbonate  of  lime.  One- 
cubic  inch  of  marble  or  chalk  will  yield  4  gallons  or  near- 
ly half  a  cubic  foot  of  this  gas ;  and  the  burning  of  one  bushel 
of  charcoal  will  produce  2,500  gallons.  It  is  also  produced 
by  fermentation.  When  cider  is  suffered  to  ferment;  or 
any  other  liquid  which  contains  sugar;  bubbles  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  are  evolved  from  it  and  rise  through  it  and  es- 
cape at  the  surface.  This  is  caused  by  the  change  of  the 
sugar  into  alcohol  by  which  carbonic  acid  is  formed.  The 
same  result  happens  when  a  solution  of  malt  or  glucose 
is  fermented  for  the  manufacture  of  beer :  the  foam  which 
appears  upon  the  fresh  beer  being  caused  by  the  escape  of 
carbonic  acid  from  the  liquid  during  its  confinement  in  the 
barrel  or  bottle.  The  foaming  of  sparkling  w^nes  is  due  ta 
the  same  cause. 

It  is  also  produced  by  the  decomposition  of  solid  sub- 
stances which  contain  starch,  or  other  vegetable  matter. 
The  carbon  of  the  starch,  or  cellular  substance,  is  slowiy 
consumed  by  the  low  heat  of  the  decomposition,  and  unite* 
with  oxygen,  giving  off  carbonic  acid  in  the  process;  the 
residue  left  after  final  decay  being  mostly  all  mineral 
matter. 

Carbonic  acid  is  the  principal  food  of  plants  and  con- 
tributes largely  to  that  portion  of  their  substance,  which 
is  derived  from  the  atmosphere.  The  supply  of  this  nec- 
essary compound  is  derived  both  from  the  atmosphere,  and 
from  the  water,  which  are  always  present  in  the  soil. 
These  entering  into  the  substance  of  the  plants,  the  for- 
mer by  the  leaves  and  the  latter  by  the  roots,  are  taken  in- 
to the  circulation  in  the  sap  and  elaborated  into  the  solid 
cellular  tissue,  starch,  sugar,  and  gum,  which  are  com- 
pounds of  carbon  oxygen  and  hydrogen;  or  carbon  and 
water;  as  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  exist  in  these  sub- 
stances in  precisely  the  proportions  which  go  to  form  water. 


•62  THE   CULTURE    OF    FARM    CROPS. 

"Thus  starch  consists  of  12  parts  of  carbon;  20  parts  of  hy- 
■<lrogen  and  10  parts  of  oxygen;  while  it  has  been  seen  that 
■water,  consisting  of  2  parts  of  hydrogen  and  1  part  of  oxy- 
gen, the  20  parts  of  hydrogen  and  10  of  oxygen  in  the 
starch  are  equivalent  to  precisely  10  parts  of  water.  But 
it  is  not  certain  that  starch  is  made  up  of  carbon  and  wat- 
er; it  is  more  probable  that  the  three  elemeuc:  exist  in 
starch  in  other  forms  of  combination.  It  is  certam  however 
that  carbonic  acid  is  the  source  from  which  the  carbon  of 
the  vegetable  substance  is  procured :  because  carbon  is  in- 
soluble in  water  and  is  a  solid  .lubstance,  and  plants  cannot 
take  any  solid  matter  into  their  circulation  and  their  food 
must  always  be  in  solution  in  water.  This  part  of  our 
subject  however  will  be  more  fully  treated  in  a  future  chap- 
ter and  under  its  appropriate  head. 

The  air  contains  one  part  of  carbonic  acid  in  2,500  and 
this  proportion  seems  to  be  the  most  suitable  for  the  health- 
ful growth  of  plants.  The  sun  light  has  a  great  influence 
upon  this  nutritive  function  of  this  acid.  When  plants  are 
exposed  to  the  sunshine,  it  has  been  found  that  they  grew 
more  vigorously  in  an  artificial  atmosphere  containing  one- 
twelfth  of  its  bulk  of  carbonic  acid;  but  when  this  propor- 
tion was  increased  the  plants  were  injured.  "When  the 
carbonic  acid  amounted  to  one-half  the  atmosphere,  the 
plants  perished  in  7  days;  and  when  the  proportion  was 
two-thirds,  the  plants  stopped  growth  immediately.  In  the 
shade,  any  increase  of  the  carbonic  acid  above  the  normal 
amount  in  the  atmosphere  viz  one  twenty-five  hundredth 
{.0004)  proved  to  be  injurious.  This  fact  is  of  im- 
portance; for  the  reason  that  although  an  increase 
in  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  air,  might  stimu- 
late vegetable  growth,  yet  it  would  seriously  and  even  fatally 
disturb  the  balance  of  nature,  because  the  air  would  then 
be  unfit  for  the  respiration  of  animals;  and  moreover  al- 
though plants  would  grow  more  luxuriantly  in  such  an  at- 
mosphere, in  perpetual  sunshine,  yet  they  would  suffer  in 
the  shade;  and  would  also  certainly  require  a  proportion- 
ate increase  in  the  supply  of  other  food,  to  complete  their 


ACTION   OF   CARBONIC  ACID.  63 

growth;  for  it  is  a  Avell  established  law  of  vegetable  growth 
that  plants  will  not  and  cannot  take  into  their  circulation, 
to  any  considerable  extent,  any  larger  proportion  of  any 
one  element  of  their  structure  than  the  normal  quantity  as 
found  existing  in  them  upon  chemical  analysis.  Thus 
wheat  plants  contain  certain  elements  in  their  composition, 
and  these  are  found  to  be  constant  under  all  circumstances; 
and  notwithstanding  that  the  soil  might  contain  an  excess- 
ive quantity  of  any  one  of  these  elements,  yet  no  more  than 
the  normal  proportion  would  be  taken  up  by  the  wheat. 
If  one  is  increased,  every  one  must  be,  and  thus  an  increase 
of  one  would  necessitate  an  increase  of  all.  If  then  the  at- 
mosphere should  contain  an  excessive  quantity  of  carbonic 
acid  and  the  growth  of  vegetation  should  be  greatly  stimu- 
lated thereby,  it  Avould  lead  to  a  very  rapid  exhaustion  of 
the  soil  by  the  removal  of  the  necessary  mineral  elements. 
This  principle  is  a  fundamental  one,  and  applies  generally 
to  the  growth  of  farm  crops  and  should  therefore  be  kept  in 
constant  remembrance  by  every  farmer. 

Carbonic  acid  unites  with  all  the  alkaline  minerals  in  the 
soil:  as  lime;  magnesia;  potash;  soda;  also  with  ammonia; 
as  the  carbonates  of  these  substances.  Its  solution  in  water 
gives  this  liquid  an  increased  solvent  power  over  mineral 
substances;  thus  common  carbonate  of  lime  is  practically 
insoluble  in  pure  water;  but  when  the  water  contains  car- 
bonic acid,  it  is  able  to  dissolve  a  considerable  quantity  of 
it,  and  this  property  applies  to  other  mineral  substances  as 
well.  This  gives  a  practical  importance  to  the  functions  of 
this  acid  which  is  of  the  greatest  interest  to  cultivators  of 
the  soil.  A  simple  experiment  will  illustrate  this  behavior 
of  carbonic  acid.  A  current  of  this  gas  passed  through  lime 
water  will  produce  a  milky  appearance  in  it  by  the  forma- 
tion and  precipitation  of  carbonate  of  lime.  After  a  short 
time  the  cloudiness  will  disappear  by  the  solution  of  the 
carbonate  thus  formed,  in  the  acid  water.  By  heating  the 
water  the  carbonic  acid  is  driven  off  and  the  carbonate  of 
lime  is  again  precipitated  and  appears. 

The  carbonic  acid  of  the  air  is  produced  from  a  variety 


64  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPfs. 

of  sources.  It  is  given  off  copiously  by  the  lungs  of  ani- 
mals during  respiration:  it  is  formed  during  the  process  of 
fermentation,  and  the  decomposition  of  all  organic  sub- 
stances. But  its  absorption  and  reproduction  in  nature 
seem  to  be  perfectly  balanced.  It  exists  primarily  in  the 
air  to  the  extent  named  and  is  equally  diffused  throughout 
the  mass  of  it.  Plants  spring  up  and  grow  and  form  their 
substance  by  its  absorption  from  the  atmosphere  both  di- 
rectly and  through  the  water  which  dissolves  it.  Plants  de- 
cay and  return  their  carbonic  acid  to  the  atmosphere. 
Animals  feed  upon  the  vegetation,  convert  the  carbon  into 
carbonic  acid  in  their  system  by  the  production  of  vital 
heat,  which  is  a  true  process  of  combustion ;  and  exhale  the 
gas  from  their  lungs.  Men  dig  ooal  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  or  cut  timber  from  the  forests  and  use  these  for  fuel ;. 
in  the  combustion  enormous  quantities  of  carbon  stored  up 
in  these  substances  are  changed  into  carbonic  acid,  and  are 
discharged  into  the  air,  in  which  it  is  immediately  diffused. 
The  succeeding  generations  of  plants  take  this  new  supply 
and  convert  it  to  their  uses  and  thus  a  grand  routine  is 
completed  and  the  precise  balance  is  maintained.  This  is 
but  one  of  the  many  beautiful  instances  of  the  operation 
of  a  set  of  natural  laws,  the  effects  of  which  produce  w^hat 
is  called  the  balance  of  nature;  or  the  conservation  of  force. 
Both  of  these  terms  are  well  applied,  and  strictly  correct, 
for  as  every  operation  of  nature  consumes  force,  it  is  the 
balance  of  these  forces  which  maintains  the  equilibrium  of 
the  universe,  preserving  order  and  regularity  of  motion, 
which  goes  on  undisturbed  as  generations  come  and  go  and 
centuries  roll  around;  typifying  the  eternity  of  matter  and 
the  indestructible  nature  of  elements. 


THE  SOURCES  OF   NITRIC  ACID. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

NITRIC  ACID.— ITS  COMPOSITION,  AND  USES  IN  THE 
GROWTH  OF  CROPS. 

Nitrogen  itself  is  wholly  inert  and  has  no  positive  action^ 
in  nature.  Its  office  is  wholly  negative.  But  when  com- 
bined with  oxygen  as  nitric  acid,  or  with  hydrogen  as  am- 
monia, it  becomes  endowed  with  the  most  active  properties; 
and  enters  into  the  most  interesting  and  useful  combina-^ 
tions  in  the  structure  of  organic  matter.  Nitrogen  formsi 
one-sixth  part  of  the  animal  tissues  and  the  same  propor- 
tion of  the  so  called  nitrogenous,  or  albuminoid  portions  of 
plants.  But  there  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  the  nitro- 
gen 60  combined  in  organic  substance  is  derived  directly 
from  this  element  as  it  exists  in  the  atmosphere;  but  on  the 
contrary  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  it  enters  into  the 
composition  of  plants  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid,  which  is  a 
combination  of  nitrogen  and  oxygen.  Moreover  we  are  at 
a  loss  to  know  how  this  nitric  acid  enters  into  the  compo- 
sition of  plant  tissue;  the  general  drift  of  the  evidence  gained 
by  the  most  careful  experiments  going  to  show  that  it  is 
carried  into  the  plants  in  solution  in  the  water  of  the  soil, 
and  is  derived  from  the  ammonia  which  is  abundantly 
evolved  from  decaying  organic  matter  in  the  soil  and  only 
to  a  very  small  extent  from  the  contributions  drawn  from 
the  atmosphere. 

The  sources  of  nitric  acid  are  threefold;  first;  from  the 
atmosphere  in  which  it  exists  as  a  product  of  the  decompo- 
sition of  organic  matter  and  from  which  it  is  washed  by  the 
rains  which  dissolve  it;  second;  from  a  peculiar  fermenta- 
tion of  organic  matter,  in  the  soil  or  in  manure;  which  is 
produced  by  the  agency  of  a  low  form  of  plant  life ;  a  germ 
or  fungus  which  grows  and  spreads  through  the  mass  and 
causes  the  oxidation  of  the  nitrogenous  matter  in  it;  or  it 


66  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

may  be  that  it  acts  upon  the  nitrogen  left  free  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  oxygen  from  it  and  so  induces  its  combina- 
tion with  oxygen;  and,  third;  nitric  acid  is  formed  in^the 
atmosphere  by  the  action  of  electrical  discharges  by  which 
the  oxygen  and  nitrogen  are  brought  into  combination;  in 
the  manner  previously  mentioned. 

The  atmospheric  sources  of  nitric  acid  are  not  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  large  quantity  of  it  which  is  found  in 
any  ordinary  crop.  Various  experiments  have  been  made 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  amount  of  combined 
nitrogen,  in  either  of  its  forms,  which  is  gathered  by  plants 
from  the  atmosphere.  The  average  of  all  the  determina- 
tions which  have  been  reached,  give  the  quantity  at  about 
10  pounds  per  acre.  But  the  average  consumption  by  the 
crops  equals  44  lbs.  per  acre.  So  that  this  atmospheric 
supply  is  wholly  inadequate  for  the  growth  of  farm  crops. 
This  is  one  of  seeming  anomalies  of  nature,  that  while  no 
less  than  nearly  20,000  tons  of  nitrogen,  as  it  exists  in  the 
atmosphere,  rest  over  one  acre  of  surface,  a  crop  cannot 
procure  the  small  quantity  of  44  lbs.  per  acre  from  all  this 
vast  atmospheric  store.  But  this  is  quite  consistent  with 
the  regular  course  of  natural  operations.  The  elements 
form  combinations,  as  has  been  shown  of  an  infinite  num- 
ber and  variety,  and  it  is  only  in  these  combined  forms 
that  they  serve  their  ends.  The  elementary  carbon  can 
provide  plants  with  their  supply  of  carbon,  only  through 
its  combination  with  oxygen;  and  in  like  manner  the  ele- 
mentary nitrogen  requires  a  certain  preparation  to  fit  it  for 
assimilation  by  plants. 

The  small  quantity  of  nitric  acid  which  Is  procured  from 
the  atmosphere  by  the  crops,  is  however  sufficient  for  all  the 
practical  needs  of  the  intelligent  farmer.  He  does  not  de- 
pend upon  the  air  to  supply  his  crops  with  this  scarce  and 
most  valuable  nutriment.  By  a  wise  course  of  economical 
management  he  accumulates  a  large  amount  of  organic 
matter  rich  in  nitrogen,  the  decay  of  which  he  aids  by  his 
skillful  methods,  and  so  provides  an  abundant  stock  of  food 
for  his  crops.     If  the  atmosphere  then  contributes  a  fourth 


HOW   NITER   IS   FORMED   IN   THE   SOIL.  67 

of  what  his  crops  need,  he  is  the  gainer  by  so  much,  and 
by  his  abundant  provision  in  the  form  of  manure  and  fer- 
tilizers, his  fields  are  yearly  increasing  in  fertility.  The 
formation  of  nitric  acid  and  nitrates  in  the  soil  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  special  ferment  alluded  to  is  of  paramount  im- 
portance to  the  farmer.  The  manner  by  which  this  result 
may  be  produced  artificially,  and  has  been  effected  for  the 
production  of  saltpeter,  is  as  follows.  A  mass  of  soil  rich 
in  organic  nitrogenous  compounds,  as  urine,  animal  excre- 
ments, vegetable  and  animal  matter  of  any  kind,  is  put  in- 
to a  heap  and  mixed  with  a  quantity  of  quicklime.  The 
heap  is  put  up  loosely  so  that  the  air  can  penetrate  easily 
through  the  mass.  In  course  of  time  the  mass  is  leached, 
and  the  liquid,  highly  charged  with  nitric  acid,  is  neutral- 
ized with  carbonate  of  potash;  the  solution  is  then  evapor- 
ated and  nitrate  of  potash  or  saltpeter  is  produced.  These 
heaps  are  known  as  "niter  beds"  and  the  process  was  for- 
merly used  extensively  for  procuring  saltpeter  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  gunpowder  for  warlike  purposes,  before  the 
great  natural  deposits  of  niter  in  South  America  were  dis- 
covered. These  natural  deposits  are  now  the  chief  source 
whence  saltpeter  of  commerce  is  procured,  and  yield  thou- 
sands of  tons  yearly  of  nitrate  of  soda  for  use  as  a  fertilizer. 
It  is  a  probable  supposition  that  the  origin  of  these  deposits 
was  similar  to  that  of  the  artificial  niter  beds.  A  vast  mass 
of  organic  matter  rich  in  nitrogen,  such  as  fish,  or  plants  of 
some  kind,  had  accumulated  in  shallow  lagoons  of  the 
ocean,  and  had  been  covered  with  mud  by  gradual  deposition. 
The  action  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  hot  arid  climate  of 
Western  South  America  favored  the  nitrification  of  the  mass 
and  the  nitric  acid  formed,  combined  with  the  soda  of  the 
salt  from  the  sea  water  to  form  nitrate  of  soda.  One  of  the 
frequent  convulsions  of  nature  common  to  that  coast  eleva- 
ted the  surface  of  the  land,  gradually,  during  the  formation 
of  the  deposit,  and  the  gradual  rise  has  left  the  niter  beds 
in  their  present  position  at  a  distance  from  the  ocean.  The 
compost  heaps  made  by  the  farmer,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
favor  this  process  of  nitrification,  form  a  source  whence  a 


68  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

large  supply  of  this  indispensable  plant  food  may  be  pro- 
cured. 

It  is  quite  possible,  not  to  say  probable,  that  the  oxida- 
tion of  nitrogen  may  occur  directly  in  these  beds.  A  large 
quantity  of  free  nitrogen  is  necessarily  left  in  the  mass  by 
the  consumption  of  oxygen  in  the  decomposition  of  the  or' 
ganic  matter.  This  nitrogen  is  dissolved  to  some  extent  by 
the  water  in  the  heap,  the  water  is  decomposed  by  the 
chemical  action,  and  in  the  aggregate  result  of  the  vigorous 
chemical  actions  and  reactions  going  on  there  is  no  violent 
assumption  in  the  conclusion  that  the  free  nitrogen  is  seized 
upon  to  some  extent  by  the  omnipotent  oxygen  and  reduced 
to  nitric  acid.  The  possibility  or  probability  of  this  is  all 
on  the  side  of  the  farmer  who  may  avail  himself  of  it  as  far 
as  possible,  by  providing  the  means  for  it  and  securing  the 
results  of  it  if  there  are  any. 

The  earth  is  a  great  magnet  and  electrical  disturbances 
are  constantly  going  on,  through  its  mass  and  upon  its  sur- 
face. Every  spark  of  electricity,  from  the  lightning  flash, 
to  the  tiny  discharge  from  weak  currents  in  the  soil,  cause 
a  union  of  the  elements  of  the  air  and  produce  nitric  acid. 
It  is  quite  possible,  and  even  probable,  that  many  vexed 
questions  in  regard  to  the  source  of  the  nitrogen  gathered 
by  such  plants,  as  clover,  from  the  soil,  may  in  time  find 
their  solution  in  this  direction.  So  far  we  know  that  a  crop 
of  clover  gathers  an  enormous  quantity  of  nitrogen  from 
some  source.  All  we  know  of  the  subject  tends  to  point  out 
the  soil  as  the  source  of  it.  A  fertile  soil  may  contain  from 
two  to  three  tons  of  nitrogen  to  the  acre,  and  of  this  a  crop 
of  clover  wall  gather  in  its  roots  and  stubble  and  leave  upon 
the  soil  from  150  to  180  lbs. ;  while  no  other  crop  could  ex- 
tract from  it  enough  to  supply  the  needs  for  any  profitable 
yield.  The  clover  has  procured  this  nitrogen  in  some  hid- 
den w^ay;  how  w^e  know  not;  but  we  know  the  fact.  This 
is  suflScient  for  the  purposes  of  the' farmer,  w^ho  may  specu- 
late upon  the  causes  of  it,  while  he  avails  himself  of  the  re- 
sults. It  may  be  however  that  a  large  portion  of  this 
gathered  nitrogen  has  been  brought  up  from  great  depths 


EFFECTS   OF   ELECTKICITY.  69 

in  the  soil  by  the  long  tap  roots  of  the  clover  plants  and  to 
which  the  roots  of  other  plants  cannot  reach;  and  that  some 
of  this  organic  nitrogen,  at  least,  may  have  becb  procured 
from  nitric  acid  produced  in  the  deeper  soil  by  the  action 
of  electrical  currents.  Perhaps  this  source  is  over  estimated; 
but  it  is  certain  that  the  action  of  electrical  discharges 
through  the  soil,  which  are  quite  as  frequent  as  those  through 
the  air,  and  from  cloud  to  cloud,  have  as  yet  not  been  con- 
sidered to  any  extent,  if  at  all,  in  the  discussions  and  inves- 
tigations of  this  exceedingly  important  question :  "where  do 
plants  procure  their  nitrogen?" 


THE  CULTURE  OP  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XII 

AMMONIA.— ITS  COMPOSITION,  PROPERTIES,  AND  RE- 
LATION  TO  VEGETABLE  GROWTH. 

Ammonia  has  been  previously  mentioned  as  a  compound 
of  nitrogen  and  hydrogen  gases.  It  has  some  very  inter- 
esting and  important  properties  in  regard  to  organic  mat- 
ter, and  has  been  made  the  subject  of  much  study  and  ex- 
periment by  agricultural  physiologists.  It  is  a  colorless 
gas,  but  offers  in  its  other  remarkable  properties,  an  instance 
of  the  wonderful  changes  in  matter  made  by  chemical  com- 
bination. Its  primary  elements  have  .neither  taste  noi* 
odor,  but  when  combined,  this  product  has  a  most  powerful 
penetrating  odor;  a  burning  acrid  taste:  extinguishes  flame; 
is  not  combustible  as  hydrogen  is;  instantly  suffocates  ani- 
mals; kills  living  vegetables,  and  corrodes  their  substance. 

It  is  absorbed  in  large  quantities  by  porous  substances ; 
charcoal  absorbs  95  times  its  own  bulk  of  it ;  peat  takes  up 
a  large  amount  of  it,  varying  Avith  its  own  condition;  decay- 
ing vegetable  matter  also  takes  up  and  holds  it  in  its  mass; 
porous  soils,  clay,  and  iron  oxide  mixed  in  the  soils  of  a 
red  color,  are  capable  of  absorbing  and  retaining  it  within 
their  pores,  when  it  is  brought  into  contact  with  them. 

But  water  absorbs  ammonia  to  a  far  greater  extent  than 
any  other  substance.  If  a  bottle  filled  with  the  gas  is  in- 
verted in  water,  the  water  will  instantly  rush  up  and  fill 
the  bottle,  absorbing  and  dissolving  the  ammonia  and  occu- 
pying its  place.  The  solution  of  ammonia  in  water  is 
lighter  than  water  to  the  extent  of  one-eighth;  and  has  the 
same  properties  as  the  gas  itself. 

Ammonia  is  an  alkali  and  combines  with  acids;  changes 
vegetable  red  colors  to  blue,  and  in  combining  with  some 
acid  gases  forms  solid  substances;  as  for  instance  when 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  mixed  with  it,  the  two  gases  combine 


INFLUENCE   OF   AMMONIA   UPON   VEGETATION.  71 

and  form  solid  carbonate  of  ammonia,  in  the  form  of  mi- 
nute particles  appearing  as  a  white  cloud.  A  feather  dip- 
ped into  diluted  hydrochloric  acid,  or  in  vinegar,  and  held 
over  a  bottle  of  ammonia  water,  or  any  substance  from 
w^hich  ammonia  is  escaping,  is  soon  covered  with  a  white 
downy  substance,  which  in  the  one  case  is  chloride  of  am- 
monia, and  in  the  other  is  acetate  of  ammonia.  This  test 
of  the  presence  of  ammonia  is  an  easy  method  of  distin- 
guishing it  where  its  escape  from  decomposing  substances  is 
suspected. 

This  gas  is  only  little  more  than  half  the  weight  of  air 
(59  hundredths);  hence  it  rises  and  is  diffused  in  the  air 
with  ease.  It  consists  of  14  parts  by  w^eight  of  nitrogen 
(82.545  per  cent.)  and  3  parts  by  weight  of  hydrogen 
(17.455  per  cent.). 

In  nature  it  exists  in  large  quantity.  It  is  almost  uni- 
versally diffused  throughout  the  atmosphere  and  in  the 
surface  soil  and  the  waters  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  earth; 
but  it  is  not  known  to  enter  into  any  of  the  mineral  com- 
pounds of  which  the  earth  is  composed.  One  exception 
may  be  noted  and  this  is  guano;  a  substance  supposed  by 
some  to  consist  of  the  decomposed  excrements  of  sea  birds, 
and  by  others  of  infusorial  matter,  having  some  relation  to 
mineral  substance.  But  in  either  case  guano  Would  be  of 
organic  origin  and  a  product  of  the  decomposition  of  or- 
ganic matter.  This  substance  when  free  from  earthy  mat- 
ter contains  a  large  proportion  of  ammonia,  both  free  and 
combined,  and  is  the  most  valuable  and  costly  fertilizer 
known. 

Ammonia  chiefly  exists  in  a  state  of  combination  as  carbon- 
ate, but  also  as  a  chloride,  and  a  nitrate.  As  it  combines  very 
freely  with  acids,  and  most  easily  with  carbonic  acid,  it  is 
rarely  found  free  in  the  atmosphere,  and  then  only  tempor- 
arily; but  it  is  as  easily  sepai*ated  from  its  combinations, 
on  account  of  its  volatile  character  which  makes  it  readily 
subject  to  the  influence  of  heat. 

The  influence  of  ammonia  upon  the  growth  of  plants  is 
exceedingly  active.     It  not  only  promotes  the  growth  with 


7z  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

rapidity  and  luxuriance,  buf  it  appears  to  exercise  a  con- 
siderable control  over  the  functions  of  vegetable  life.  In 
this  regard  there  are  several  special  properties  of  this  com- 
pound which  should  be  clearly  understood,  by  the  farmer 
and  student  of  agriculture. 

First. — It  has  a  powerful  affinity  for  acid  substances,  and 
unites  with  them  with  great  facility  as  it  escapes  into  the 
atmosphere,  or  meets  with  them  in  the  soil.  Hence  when 
formed  or  liberated  in  the  stables;  in  the  cattle  yard;  man- 
ure and  compost  heaps  and  in  other  places  where  organic 
matter  is  in  a  process  of  decay;  it  unites  with  such  acid  sub- 
stances and  forms  salts  or  saline  compounds.  And  these 
salts  appear  to  exert  a  considerable  influence  upon  the  growth 
of  crops. 

Second. — This  affinity  for  acid  substances  however,  is 
much  less  active  and  strong  than  that  possessed  by  other  al- 
kaline compounds,  as  potash,  lime,  soda  and  magnesia. 
Hence  if  any  one  of  these  alkaline  substances  is  brought  in- 
to contact  with  a  salt  of  ammonia,  this  is  at  once  decom- 
posed and  its  acid  is  taken  up  by  the  stronger  alkali,  while 
the  ammonia  is  separated  and  set  free  in  its  gaseous  state. 
If  a  small  quantity  of  sal-ammoniac  (chloride  of  ammon- 
ium) is  powdered  and  is  mixed  with  twice  its  w-eight  of 
powdered  quicklime,  the  ammoniacal  gas  is  liberated,  and 
the  chlorine  unites  with  the  lime.  This  is  one  of  the  several 
methods  o*f  procuring  pure  ammonia,  and  is  an  instance  of 
one  of  the  very  many  useful  functions  performed  by  lime  in 
the  soil  for  the  benefit  of  farm  crops;  especially  upon  lands 
which  have  been  made  rich  in  organic  matter  by  liberal 
manuring,  or  which  are  naturally  well  supplied  with  decay- 
ing vegetable  matter,  as  reclaimed  sw^amps  or  peat  bogs. 
It  also  shows  the  injurious  effect  of  mixing  lime  with  man- 
ure of  any  kind  in  which  ammonia  exists,  or  can  be  devel- 
oped by  the  decomposing  agency  of  the  lime,  unless  at  the 
same  time,  the  lime  is  used  in  moderate  quantity  and  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  soil  or  other  matters  which  absorb  am- 
monia are  used  to  counteract  this  result  of  the  lime. 

Third. — The  salts  and  saline  compounds  which  are  formed 


AMMONIA   ABSORBED   BY   THE   SOIL.  73 

T)}-  the  anion  of  the  ammonia  with  acids,  are  like  the  gas 
itself,  exceedingly  soluble  in  water.  Two  results  of  this 
property  follow.  The  carbonate  of  ammonia  which  is 
formed  in  the  atmosphere  by  the  union  of  the  ammonia  and 
the  carbonic  acid,  is  readily  dissolved,  and  is  washed  down 
and  brought  to  the  earth  by  the  rains  and  dews;  the  soil  is 
thus  supplied  with  most  useful  food  for  the  crops,  while 
the  air  is  freed  from  a  noxious  substance  and  is  purified  for 
the  use  of  mankind  and  animals.  Also  Avhatever  combina- 
tions of  ammonia  are  formed  in  the  soil,  are  dissolved  and 
diffused  through  it  by  the  rains,  or  other  moisture  derived 
by  condensation,  and  are  carried  everywhere  in  all  direc- 
tions by  the  movements  of  this  moisture  among  the  fine 
particles  of  the  soil. 

Fourth. — As  this  gas  is  readily  absorbed  by  porous  earthy 
matter,  it  is  readily  taken  up  by  the  soil  and  held  in  reserve 
to  be  yielded  up  to  the  roots  of  plants  with  the  water  of  the 
soil  which  draws  upon  this  source  for  a  supply.  Hence  the 
ammonia  yielded  by  the  decomposing  organic  matter  of  the 
soil,  is  held  safely  but  loosely  among  the  finest  particles  of 
the  soil  as  an  intermediate  deposit,  to  be  drawn  upon  for 
future  use  as  it  may  be  required  by  the  crops.  This  prop- 
■erty  of  fine  dry  soil  is  of  great  importance  to  the  farmer  for 
it  is  exerted  to  a  large  extent.  All  porous  substances —  as 
has  been  previously  explained — have,  among  other  proper- 
ties, that  of  oxidizing  organic  matter.  Hence  it  has  been 
found  that  the  dry  earth  used  as  an  absorbent  in  the  do- 
mestic earth-closets  and  urinals,  so  rapidly  and  effectively 
oxidize  these  matters  which  are  rich  in  nitrogen,  and  in 
which  the  nitrogen  is  easily  converted  into  ammonia,  that 
they  wholly  disappear,  and  the  dry  earth  after  having  been 
used  repeatedly  nine  times  in  the  closet,  with  alternate  pe- 
riods of  rest,  still  gives  no  indication  of  having  been  used 
for  this  purpose  in  the  slightest  offensiveness,  or  appearance 
of  containing  any  disagreeable  substance.  The  organic  mat- 
ter has  disappeared;  having  evidently  been  resolved  by  ox- 
idation into  its  elements  and  the  gases  having  been  absorbed 
and  held  by  occlusion  in  the  interstices  of  the  porous  earth. 


74  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

This  fact  is  full  of  significance  to  the  farmer  who  may  per- 
ceive in  it  a  proof  of  ^/le  necessity  of  a  thorough  jnilverization. 
of  the  soil  for  the  maximum  growth  and  yield  of  his  crops. 

Fifth. — In  the  state  of  carbonate, — in  which  it  mostly  ex- 
ists, because  of  its  aifinity  for  this  acid  and  the  abundance 
of  it  in  the  atmosphere — ammonia  decomposes  gypsum 
(sulphate  of  lime)  and  changes  acids  with  it;  forming  sul- 
phate of  ammonia  and  carbonate  of  lime.  This  action  only 
goes  on  however  when  moisture  is  present.  The  beneficial 
action  of  gypsum  (the  common  agricultural  "plaster")  upon 
clover,  corn  and  other  crops  has  been  ascribed  to  this  single 
property.  But  popular  impressions  are  easily  formed  and 
take  a  firm  hold  upon  the  popular  mind,  which  does  not 
stop  to  think  and  reason,  or  take  pains  and  time  to  observe 
closely ;  hence  the  opinions  thus  formed  are  too  often  only 
superficial  and  partial  and  are  not  substantial  enough  to 
base  a  rule  or  principle  upon.  No  doubt  some  of  the  favora- 
ble results  of  an  application  of  "plaster"  to  the  soil,  in  some 
cases,  may  be  due  to  this  mutual  action  of  gypsum  and  car- 
bonate of  ammonia,  or  of  gypsum  and  free  ammonia  upon 
each  other;  but  there  are  other  principles  involved  in  the 
subject  which  must  be  referred  to  in  a  more  appropriate 
place  hereafter  and  to  which  much  of  the  effect  of  gypsum 
is  undoubtedly  due.  Nevertheless  as  it  is  a  fact  that  gyp- 
sum and  carbonate  of  ammonia  do  exert  this  mutual  reac- 
tion upon  each  other,  and  under  favorable  circumstances 
the  result  may  be  conspicuously  marked  upon  the  growth 
of  the  crops.  For  100  lbs.  of  common  finely  ground  gyp- 
sum— a  comparatively  small  quantity  to  be  spread  over  an 
acre  of  land — will  fix  or  unite  with  nearly  20  lbs.  of  am- 
monia, containing  16 J  lbs.  of  nitrogen; — a  comparatively 
large  quantity  of  this  scarce  and  invaluable  plant  food,  for 
it  is  equivalent  to  about  60  lbs.  of  nitric  acid  and  nearly 
100  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  soda,  which  is  considered  a  very  lib- 
eral use  of  this  most  active  fertilizer.  And  this  fact  is  one 
to  be  studiously  considered  and  judiciously  applied  by  every 
intelligent  farmer. 

Sixth. — The  presence  of  ammonia  in  a  soil  which  contains 


DECOMPOSITION   OF    AMMONIA.  75> 

decaying  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  induces  this  matter 
to  attract  oxygen  from  the  air  with  greater  rapidity  and 
abundance.  That  is,  in  simple  words,  ammonia  assists  in 
and  hastens  the  decomposition  of  organic  substances,  and 
the  result  of  this  is  that  compounds  are  formed  which  react 
upon  the  ammonia,  combine  with  it  and  form  ammoniacal 
salts-  When  these  are  in  their  turn  decomposed  by  lime 
or  other  substances  in  the  soil,  they  become  more  available 
plant  food,  being  more  advanced  towards  a  fit  condition  for 
this  purpose  and  for  assimilation  into  the  circulation  and 
cellular  tissue  of  vegetables. 

Seventh. — The  most  important  property  of  ammonia,  and 
that  consequently  of  the  greatest  interest  to  farmers,  is  the 
ease  with  which  it  undergoes  decomposition,  in  the  air,  the 
soil,  and  the  interior  of  plants. 

In  the  atmosphere  it  is  intimately  mixed  with  a  large 
quantity  of  oxygen  and  it  also  comes  into  close  contact  with 
this  gas  in  the  soil.  By  certain  influences  already  referred 
to  it  undergoes  a  slow  and  constant  decomposition,  or  oxi- 
dation, its  hydrogen  being  converted  into  water,  and  its  ni- 
trogen, wholly  or  in  part,  is  changed  into  nitric  acid.  This 
change  certainly  goes  on  within  the  soil  and  most  probably 
within  the  substance,  or  in  the  sap,  of  plants.  That  some- 
thing of  this  kind  goes  on  within  the  plants,  as  well  as  in 
the  soil,  seems  to  be  clearly  indicated  by  the  extraordinary 
eflfect  of  a  small  quantity  of  ammonia  or  of  its  comjDounds; 
in  a  remarkably  short  period  of  time;  upon  the  condition 
of  vegetation.  This  is  very  conspicuously  seen,  in  the  sim- 
ple experiment  of  growing  plants  in  pots  where  the  condi- 
tion of  the  soil  can  be  controlled  and  the  effects  of  plant 
food  noted.  A  few  drops  of  ammonia  added  to  the  w^ater 
used  for  the  plants,  will  be  seen  to  change  the  color  of  the 
leaves  in  a  very  short  time;  producing  a  deep  vivid  verdure, 
where  before  a  pale  yellowish  color  prevailed.  Investiga- 
tions are  in  progress  to  decide  this  question  but  a  speedy 
solution  is  not  likely  to  be  reached.  The  conditions  under 
which  plants  exist  and  the  reactions  of  the  compounds  of 
which  they  are  made  up  upon  each  other  are  so  varied,  that 


76  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

a  judicious  student  hesitates  to  form  conclusions,  and  pa- 
tiently repeats  and  verifies  his  experiments;  and  at  the  last 
when  he  is  himself  convinced  of  the  truth  of  any  result,  he 
is  slow  to  declare  it  to  the  world,  but  watches  it  and  tries  it 
in  other  ways  until  doubt  has  no  longer  any  existence. 
Hence  the  slow  progress  of  knowledge  in  the  true  science  of 
agriculture  and  the  caution  with  which  farmers  who  are 
following  up  the  experiments  of  professional  students,  should 
watch  the  results,  and  form  practical  conclusions  therefrom. 

But  the  peculiar  action  of  ammonia  upon  plant  growth, 
and  the  analogy  which  exists  between  its  action  and  that  of 
other  compounds,  lead  us  to  believe  that  ammonia  enters  in- 
to the  circulation  of  plants,  and  that  the  hydrogen  of  which 
it  contains  so  large  a  proportion,  there  separates  from  the 
nitrogen,  and  combines  with  other  organic  elements  which 
enter  by  the  roots  or  leaves  and  thus  aids  in  producing  the 
various  solid  substances  of  which  plants  are  constructed  and 
made  up.  The  nitrogen  is  then  fixed  in  the  flowers,  helping 
to  produce  the  bright  coloring  matter  and  the  agreeable 
odors;  and  to  form  the  gluten  and  albumen  of  the  seeds, 
and  other  parts.  These  and  other  important  considerations 
will  be  more  fully  considered  in  another  chapter. 

It  may  be  exceedingly  interesting  to  note  here,  the  results 
of  some  careful  tests  made  by  a  German  agricultural  chem- 
ist and  experimenter,  in  regard  to  the  effects  of  ammoniacal 
manures  upon  the  yield  of  grain  and  the  proportion  of  the 
nitrogenous  substances  contained  in  it  under  varying  cir- 
cumstances. A  number  of  experimental  plots  were  treated 
as  follows,  and  were  sown  with  wheat.  Then  from  100 
parts  of  the  produce  of  these  plots  the  various  amounts 
shown  of  gluten  and  starch,  and  the  increased  product,  were 
estimated. 

Gluten.  Starch.          Produce. 

Without  manure 9.2  66.7  3 

With  rotted  vegetable  matter  only..  9.6  65.94  5 

Cow  dung 12.0  62.3  7 

Horse  dung 13.7  61.64  10 

Sheep  dung 33.9  42.8  12 

Night  soil 33.14  41,44  14 

Dried  blood 34.24  41.3  14 

Dried  urine 35.1  39.3  12 


EFFECT   OF   AMMONIA   UPON   WHEAT.  77 

These  facts  seem  to  show  that  as  the  ammonia  in  the  man- 
ures increase,  the  yield  of  the  crop  grown  is  larger,  and  the 
more  nitrogen  is  contained  in  the  produce.  Similar  results 
have  occurred  in  the  ordinary  operations  of  the  farm  and 
the  facts  have  led  farmers  to  use  artificial  manures  rich  in 
ammonia  for  the  express  purpose  of  procuring  more  valua- 
ble grain  and  a  larger  yield  of  it.  Millers  knowing  these 
facts  have  taken  special  pains  to  acquaint  ^rmers  with 
them,  with  the  purpose  to  procure  a  better  quality  of  grain 
for  making  more  valuable  flour. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

'THE  SOURCES  OF  THE  CARBON  OF  PLANTS.— HOW  IT 

ENTERS  INTO  THEIR  CIRCULATION 

AND  SUBSTANCE. 

It  is  obvious  to  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  that  the  various 
plants  of  which  his  crops  consist,  are  supported  by  the  earth 
and  the  air,  both.  It  is  necessary  to  the  intelligent  culture 
of  farm  crops  then  to  learn  how  much  plants  owe  to  each  of 
these;  and  for  which  of  their  elements  they  are  indebted  to 
the  soil  and  for  which  to  the  air.  As  carbon  contributes 
the  larger  part  of  their  substance  to  plants  this  element  de- 
mands the  first  consideration. 

Carbon  is  a  solid  substance  and  is  therefore  incapable  of 
entering  directly  into  the  structure  of  plants.  It  must  then 
present  itself  to  the  roots  of  plants  in  the  soil,  in  solution  in 
water;  and  to  the  leaves  in  a  gaseous  form;  for  it  is  a  law 
of  plant  grow^th  that  no  solid  substance  can  enter  into  the 
roots;  and  no  liquid  or  solid  substance  can  enter  the  leaves 
or  any  other  portion  of  the  plant  which  is  above  the  ground. 
Therefore  the  sources  of  all  vegetable  carbon  must  be  the 
soil  in  which  the  roots  of  plants  exist,  and  through  which 
they  penetrate;  and  the  air  in  which  the  stems  and  leaves 
of  plants  are  constantly  bathed.  There  is  always  a  large 
quantity  of  vegetable  matter  in  a  decaying  state  in  the  soil, 
and  which  is  made  up  of  the  remains  of  previous  vegetation ; 
and  the  farmer  is  continually  adding  to  this  by  the  manure 
which  he  applies  to  the  land  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  his 
crops.  And  it  has  been  shown  that  about  one-half  of  this 
matter  consists  of  carbon.  The  question  then  arises;  is  this 
carbon  of  the  soil,  the  source  from  which  plants  derive  their 
supply;  and  do  they  feed  upon  it  by  and  through  their 
roots;  or  do  they  derive  it  from  the  air,  in  which  we  have 
learned  that  a  vast  amount  of  carbonic  acid  exists  in  the 
form  of  an  evenly  diffused  mixture.     It  is  not  usual  for  far- 


WHENCE   DO   PLANTS   DERIVE   THEIR   CARBON.  79 

mers  to  consider  this  question  with  much  interest,  if  at  all; 
giving  more  attention  to  the  other  elements  of  plant  growth 
and  leaving  the  carbon  to  take  care  of  itself.  'But  it  is  a 
question  which  should  be  carefully  considered,  because  of  its 
importance  and  because  other  questions  which  draw  atten- 
tion from  it,  may  become  more  prominent  than  they  deserve. 
We  know  that  there  was  a  time  when  no  vegetable  mat- 
ter existed  in  the  soil  and  when  vegetation  first  covered  the 
earth's  surface.  Then  the  first  plants  must  have  grown  and 
matured  without  the  aid  of  any  vegetable  or  animal  matter 
in  the  soil  and  could  have  derived  their  carbon  from  no 
other  source  than  the  atmosphere,  directly;  or  indirectly, 
by  its  presence  in  the  water  in  the  soil.  It  is  also  known 
that  soils  which  have  been  perfectly  arid  and  have  produced 
no  vegetation,  or  very  little  previously,  yield  abundant 
crops  when  brought  under  culture  by  irrigation,  and  that 
plants  are  often  grow  n  in  water  and  in  some  cases  grow  lux- 
uriantly without  having  any  connection  with  the  soil. 
Further  it  is  a  common  practice  for  farmers,  when  their 
lands  are  unable  to  produce  maximum  crops,  to  seed  them 
to  grass  or  clover  and  to  leave  them  for  years  to  recuperate 
and  become  enriched  by  the  gradual  accumulation  of  veg- 
etable matter  in  the  soil;  and  when  these  lands  are  again 
plowed  a  rich  black  soil  filled  with  carbon  is  found,  where 
but  little  organic  matter  existed  previously.  This  also  ap- 
plies to  lands  under  forest  growth,  and  to  the  rich  prairies 
of  the  west,  where  the  dark  vegetable  mold-  lies  many  feet 
in  thickness  and  contains  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  carbon; 
as  well  as  to  the  peat  swamps  in  which  enormous  quantities 
of  carbon  have  been  accumulated.  We  may  also  take  into 
consideration  the  vast  beds  of  coal  which  have  been  made 
up  of  accumulations  of  vegetable  matter,  the  luxuriance  of 
which,  proved  by  its  remains,  still  to  be  recognized  in  the 
coal,  almost  surpass  imagination;  and  may  then  ask, 
whence  did  all  this  vegetable  growth  procure  its  carbon, 
which  has  gradually  accumulated  in  the  soil  to  this  vast 
extent;  and  which  we  can  perceive  still  accumulates  under 
our  own  personal  observation  ? 


80  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Any  reasonable  person  will  be  impelled  to  reply,  the  atmoS' 
phere  must  have  been  the  first  source  of  it;  that  all  these- 
plants  must  have  existed  upon  such  carbon  as  they  could 
gather  from  the  air,  and  that  as  they  perished,  they  left  a 
supply  in  the  soil  which  was  not  fit  to  nourish  succeeding 
generations,  and  hence  accumulated  during  the  vast  periods 
of  time  which  have  elapsed  since  vegetable  growth  first 
began. 

This  reasoning  is  plausible  and  seems  free  from  objection, 
and  would  seem  to  justify  us  in  concluding  that  plants  de- 
rive their  carbon  directly  from  the  atmosphere.  In  some 
cases  this  must  be  certainly  true,  for  there  is  no  other  ex- 
planation to  be  given  of  the  circumstances.  But  as  regards 
the  culture  of  farm  crops  it  would  not  be  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  vegetable  matter  of  the  soil  has  no  relation  to  the 
growth  of  plants,  and  that  the  carbon  existing  in  the  soil 
does  not  contribute  to  the  carbonaceous  substance  of  vege- 
tables. For  facts  prove  otherwise.  Just  now  the  public 
interest  is  in  a  lively  condition  of  agitation  in  regard  to  the 
question,  whence  do  plants  gather  their  nitrogen,  and  the 
equally  important  question  in  regard  to  carbon  is  neglected. 
Farmers  are  actively  engaged  in  procuring  nitrogen  in  va- 
rious forms  at  very  considerable  expense,  believing  this  to  be 
the  chiefly  indispensable  agent  in  fertilizing  their  crops. 
But  a  few  farmers  of  intelligence,  and  used  to  closely  ob- 
serve what  is  going'  on  in  their  fields,  have  not  lost  sight  of 
the  importance  of  a  large  supply  of  combined  carbon,  and 
are  adding  to  their  fields  as  large  a  quantity  of  carbona- 
ceous matter  as  they  can  procure,  with  such  nitrogen  as 
may  seem  to  be  adequate,  and  are  thus  avoiding  the  ex- 
treme to  which  the  popular  belief  seems  to  have  turned. 

In  considering  this  question  in  the  light  of  present  expe- 
rience, it  may  be  considered  that  at  first  only  a  very  poor 
and  weak  growth  of  inferior  plants  covered  the  soil;  or  that 
by  reason  of  the  exceedingly  active  chemical  changes  which 
were  then  occurring,  the  soil  was  highly  charged  with 
carbon  in  such  forms  as  were  available  for  plant  food.  In 
the  one  case  vegetable  growth  would  proceed  slowly  to  fill 


CARBON  DRAWN  FROM  THE  AIR.  81 

the  soil  with  decomposing  matter  and  prepare  it  for  a  bet- 
ter product;  and  plants  procuring  a  portion  of  their  carbon 
from  the  air  and  gradually  finding  an  increased  supply  in  the 
soil  from  the  decomposed  organic  matter,  there  would,  in 
time,  be  a  surplus,  and  this  surplus  would  constantly  in- 
crease, and  gradually  accumulate  and  fill  the  soil.  In  the 
other  case  the  vegetation  would  be  developed  on  an  enor- 
mous scale,  just  as  we  have  reason  to  suppose  it  was  at  the 
period  when  the  carbonaceous  matter  which  supplied  the 
materials  for  the  vast  coal  beds  was  deposited.  Climate 
necessarily  would  have  much  to  do  with  this,  as  it  has  now; 
for  in  tropical  regions  the  vegetation  is  exceedingly  luxu- 
riant, forming  dense  jungles  through  which  it  is  impossible 
to  pass  without  laboriously  cutting  a  way  with  axes,  over  an 
enormous  deposit  under  foot  of  the  tangled  and  decompos- 
ing remains  of  previous  luxuriant  growth. 

We  are  forced  to  believe  from  the  evidence  that  plants 
may  derive  a  large  portion  of  their  carbon  from  atmospheric 
sources,  and  that  they  derive  a  considerable  portion  of  it 
from  the  soil.  That  they  are  fitted  by  nature  to  draw  sus- 
tenance from  either  source  or  from  both;  and  that  the  pro- 
portion of  their  food  which  is  derived  from  either  source 
depends  upon  a  variety  of  circumstances;  such  as  the  nature 
of  the  plant;  the  period  of  its  growth;  on  the  soil;  on  the 
abundance  of  provision  furnished  by  the  soil;  upon  cli- 
mate; season;  and  other  circumstances;  so  that  the  most 
reasonable  conclusion  would  be,  that  plants,  like  animals, 
have  a  power  of  adapting  themselves,  to  a  certain  extent, 
to  the  conditions  in  which  they  are  placed,  and  of  finding 
aliment,  and  supporting  life,  and  of  making  growth,  by  the 
help  of  such  nutriment  as  they  may  most  easily  reach. 
Just  as  sheep,  which  are  herbivorous  animals,  under  cer- 
tain conditions  are  known  to  live  upon  fish,  and  to  thrive 
as  well  to  all  appearances  upon  this  unusual  diet,  as  upon 
the  pastures. 

But  supposing  that  plants  derive  the  whole  of  their  car- 
bon  from  the  air,  or  are  able  to  do  so;  then  knowing  that  no 
other  compound  of  this  element  is  found  in  the  atmosphere 


82  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

to  any  appreciable  extent,  than  carbonic  acid,  and  that  diis 
compound  is  everywhere  diffused  throughout  the  atmos- 
phere and  is  always  found  in  solution  in  water,  the  con- 
clusion cannot  be  avoided,  that  it  is  from  carbonic  acid 
that  the  carbon  of  plants  is  derived,  primarily.  This  con- 
clusion is  supported  and  confirmed  by  the  knowledge  that 
plants  absorb  carbonic  acid  through  their  leaves  in  the  sun- 
shine, and  that  they  will  die  in  an  atmosphere  from  Avhich 
carbonic  acid  is  wholly  excluded. 

Again  supposing  that  plants  derive  their  carbon  wholly 
from  the  soil  or  are  able  to  do  so,  then,  knowing  that  the 
most  abundant  product  of  the  decay  of  vegetable  matter  is 
carbonic  acid ;  and  that  in  a  well  manured  soil  filled  with 
decaying  vegetable  matter,  this  gas  must  be  quite  abun- 
dant; and  that  water  dissolves  it  freely,  we  must  be  satisfied 
that  it  is  from  this  carbonic  acid,  absorbed  with  the  water 
of  the  soil  by  the  -roots  that  the  carbon  of  plants  is  derived. 
In  either  case  it  is  the  carbonic  acid  w^hich  supplies  the  car- 
bon, and  it  is  most  probable  that  this  enters  the  plant  both 
by  the  roots,  and  leaves.  Thus  whether  from  the  earth  or 
the  air,  this  gas  furnishes  an  unfailing  supply  of  food  for 
plants  from  which  their  carbon  is  derived. 

But  when  w^ater  passes  through  the  soil  it  takes  up  what- 
ever soluble  substance  it  may  meet — potash;  soda;  lime; 
magnesia;  silica;  &c.;  and  conveys  them  into  the  plants  by 
the  medium  of  their  roots.  Do  the  roots  exercise  a  super- 
vision over  the  absorbed  waters  and  reject  every  soluble 
form  of  carbon  but  that  of  carbonic  acid  ?  This  is  a  ques- 
tion of  interest  too  to  the  farmer  and  applies  directly  to  the 
practice  of  manuring  the  land.  This  subject  is  out  of  place 
as  yet,  but  the  question  is  pertinent  to  the  present  enquiry. 
It  is  know-n  that  plants  do  not  exercise  such  a  watch  and 
have  no  discretionary  power  over  the  water  which  they  ab- 
sorb; for  various  coloring  matters  as  madder  and  the  juice 
of  poke  root  berries  have  been  absorbed  into  the  circulation 
of  plants  and  have  imparted  their  color  to  the  flowers,  and 
other  parts.  These  coloring  matters  then  undergo  a  chem- 
ical change  in  the  plants  and  even  afford  nutriment.  Sugar 


CARBONIC  ACID  A  FOOD  FOR  PLANTS.        83 

gum  and  gelatine  have  been  thus  fed  to  plants,  with  the  ef- 
fect of  making  them  grow  vigorously.  A  great  variety  of 
organic  substances  containing  carbon  may  therefore  be  ab- 
sorbed into  the  plants  and  afford  nourishment.  Practical 
farmers  act  on  this  principle  and  it  forms  the  basis  of  many 
of  his  operations  and  daily  labors  as  he  accumulates  a  stock 
of  organic  substances  in  the  form  of  manures  as  food  for  his 
crops. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FAEM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

SOURCES  OF  THE   NITROGEN   OF  PLANTS.— ITS  COM- 
POUNDS AND  THEIR  EFFECTS  UPON  THE 
GROWTH  OF  PLANTS. 

While  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  contained  in  plants  is 
small  as  compared  with  that  of  other  elements,  yet  its  office 
in  the  structure  of  plants,  and  especially  of  their  seeds,  is- 
so  important  that  careful  and  patient  study  of  the  character 
and  changes  of  this  element  is  well  worthy  of  the  time  em- 
ployed. It  is  not  always  the  most  abundant  elements  in 
nature  that  are  the  most  worthy  of  regard.  The  chief  pur- 
pose of  many  farm  crops  is  the  seed,  and  although  this  part 
of  their  substance  may  be  quite  insignificant  in  quantity, 
yet  it  is  often  the  most  precious  and  highly  valued ;  and  it 
is  in  the  seed  that  the  nitrogen  of  plants  is  most  abundantly 
stored.  Again  while  the  nitrogen  in  the  more  bulky  crops- 
may  be  but  1  to  2  per  cent.,  this  element  is  the  most  impor- 
tant for  the  profitable  feeding  of  farm  stock:  as  it  contrib- 
utes largely  to  the  formation  of  the  muscular  tissue  and 
supplies  the  waste  of  it  by  muscular  exertion. 

Moreover,  any  substance  is  to  be  valued  according  to  the 
dififtculty  of  obtaining  it.  A  diamond  is  so  highly  valued 
as  it  is,  because  a  whole  year's  labor  of  several  men  may  be 
spent  in  the  vain  search  for  one,  and  its  enormous  price  in 
commerce  merely  represents  the  labor  spent  in  its  success- 
fill  discovery.  Nitrogen  is  the  most  costly  substance  the 
farmer  is  obliged  to  procure  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  his 
crops,  and  although  it  is  the  most  abundant  constituent  of 
the  atmosphere,  yet  it  is  so  inert  and  passive  and  submits 
to  combination  with  other  elements  so  unwillingly,  that  na- 
ture supplies  only  a  small  portion  of  what  the  soil  requires 
of  it,  to  produce  a  profitable  crop.  It  is  a  most  serious  fact 
in  regard  to  this  point,  that  the  greater  part  of  the  farmers 


THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   NITROGEN.  85 

labor  and  his  largest  expenditures  for  fertilizing  matter,  are 
made  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  his  field  with 
an  adequate  amount  of  nitrogen  for  the  growth  of  good 
crops.  Does  he  spend  labor  and  care  in  the  preparation  of 
the  soil  ?  it  is  that  nitrogen  compounds  may  be  developed  in 
it.  Does  he  feed  his  cattle  with  rich  food  purchased  at 
great  cost?  it  is  that  the  manure  may  be  enriched  with  as 
large  a  quantity  as  possible  of  this  valued  element.  Does 
he  laboriously  gather  organic  matter  and  lime,  and  compost 
these  with  his  manure,  and  sedulously  watch  over  the  de- 
cay of  these  materials?  it  is  that  the  nitrogen  developed 
may  not  be  lost,  but  preserved  for  use  to  supply  the  never 
satisfied  needs  of  his  crops.  And  thus  his  thoughts  by  day, 
and  his  reflections  by  night ;  his  labors ;  studies ;  and  ex- 
penditures ;  all  center  upon  this  one  most  important,  but 
otherwise  inconsiderable  element  of  vegetable  matter. 

With  regard  to  an  element  so  diflScult  to  be  procured,  it 
is  a  serious  fact  that  its  consumption  in  the  soil  is  compara- 
tively large.  A  crop  of  hay  takes  60  lbs.  of  it  from  one 
acre  of  the  soil;  a  crop  of  clover  removes  180  lbs.  ;  wheat 
carries  off  45  lbs.  Hereafter  this  subject  will  be  pursued 
to  its  completion,  here  it  is  the  purpose  to  consider  the 
sources  from  which  plants  can  procure  their  supply  rather 
than  the  amount  of  it  which  they  need. 

When  we  come  face  to  face  with  this  question  we  are 
met  with  the  fact,  that  the  only  source  from  which  any- 
large  quantity  of  nitrogen  can  be  obtained  is  the  atmosphere. 
Nitrogen  does  not  exist  in  the  rocks  excepting  in  those  of 
an  organic  origin  as  coal ;  the  atmosphere  is  the  great  store- 
house of  it.  Organic  matter  contains  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  it,  and  its  decay  in  the  soil  furnishes  the  crops  with 
a  large  part  of  their  demands ;  but  the  first  plants  which 
covered  the  soil  must  have  procured  their  supply,  as  they 
procured  their  carbon ;  viz,  from  the  atmosphere,  primarily. 
But  in  coming  to  this  conclusion  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
the  nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere  is  directly  absorbed  by 
plants  and  made  subservient  to  their  growth ;  or  that  it  is 
absorbed  in  an  uncombined  state  through  any  other  me- 


86  THE  CULTURE  OP  FARM  CROPS. 

dium.  Though  the  leaves  of  plants  are  continually  sur- 
rounded by  nitrogen,  and  the  roots  may  be  bathed  in 
water  containing  it  in  solution,  yet  there  is  no  evidence  to 
show  that  any  plant  is  so  constituted  as  to  avail  itself  of 
this  supply.  Indeed  there  is  a.  good  deal  of  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  leaves  do  not  absorb  nitrogen  and  that  if 
any  uncombined  nitrogen  at  all  is  contributed  by  the  at- 
mosphere and  used  by  plants,  it  is  through  the  roots  that 
it  must  enter  into  their  circulation.  But  that  even  this  oc- 
curs is  a  matter  of  opinion  only,  with  no  evidence  to  sup- 
port it. 

It  is  an  essential  part  of  good  farming  to  break  up  the 
land  and  reduce  it  by  thorough  tillage,  by  means  of  the 
most  effective  implements,  to  a  loose  and  mellow  condition, 
so  that  the  air  can  have  access  to  the  decaying  organic  mat- 
ter in  the  soil ;  as  well  as  to  the  living  roots  which  permeate 
the  earth  in  all  directions  to  considerable  depths  below  the 
surface.  When  the  air  is  thus  admitted  to  the  roots,  it  is  not 
impossible  that  some  of  the  nitrogen,  as  well  as  some  of  the 
oxygen,  may  be  absorbed  and  made  use  of  by  the  plant  di- 
rectly ;  but  in  the  changes  in  the  organic  matter  which  oc- 
cur, it  is  known  that  nitrogen  is  disengaged  in  a  form  in 
which  it  can  be  appropriated  by  plants ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  some  atmospheric  nitrogen  may  also  be  seized  upon 
and  converted  into  plant  food  at  the  same  time.  To  what 
extent  this  may  happen  however  we  have  as  yet  no  certain  re- 
sults from  which  any  definite  knowledge  has  been  reached. 
If  any  nitrogen  enters  the  roots  of  plants  in  solution  in  wa- 
ter, the  quantity  is  very  small  and  uncertain. 

When  water  is  exposed  to  the  air  it  gradually  absorbs- 
both  oxygen  and  nitrogen ;  as  has  been  previously  men- 
tioned. The  whole  quantity  of  these  mixed  gases  thus  tak- 
en up  amounts  to  about  4  per  cent,  of  the  volume  of  the 
water  and  in  rain  water  about  two-thirds  of  this  quantity 
consists  of  nitrogen.  A  hundred  cubic  inches  of  rain  water 
will  therefore  carry  into  the  soil  2|  inches  of  this  gas.  But 
this  water  in  passing  through  the  soil  dissolves  also  other 
substances;  carbonic  acid  and  various  solid  matters  and  in 


THE    NITROGEN    DERIVED   FROM   THE   AIR.  87 

doing  so  gives  off  a  portion  of  the  other  gases  which  it  had 
previously  taken  up  and  absorbed  from  the  air.  But  if  the 
water  should  actually  carry  to  the  roots  and  ^ke  with  it 
into  the  circulation  of  the  plants  2  per  cent,  of  its  bulk  of 
nitrogen,  the  whole  amount  of  this  nitrogen  would  be  quite 
inadequate  to  supply  the  requirements  of  a  crop.  For  the 
whole  rain  fall  in  this  country,  during  the  season  when  a 
crop  of  hay,  wheat,  or  oats  is  grown,  amounts  to  about  8 
inches ;  and  of  this  at  least  one-hali'  is  evaporated  very  soon 
after  it  has  fallen.  If  we  suppose  the  quantity  left  in  the 
soil  during  this  period  amounts  to  6  inches  there  would  be 
864  cubic  inches  of  water  fall  upon  a  square  foot,  contain- 
ing of  nitrogen  about  17  cubic  inches,  or  about  5  grains  in 
weight.  This  would  give  something  over  30  lbs.  to  the 
acre  of  nitrogen  carried  into  the  soil.  But  it  would  be  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  more  than  one-third  of  this  quan- 
tity would  be  carried  into  the  roots  and  be  transpired  by 
the  leaves  of  any  growing  crop.  There  would  then  be 
about  10  pounds  of  nitrogen  carried  into  the  circulation  of 
the  plants,  which  is  only  one-sixth  part  of  that  which  is 
contained  in  a  crop  of  hay,  and  one-eighteenth  part  of  that 
removed  from  the  soil  in  a  crop  of  clover. 

This  is  a  rough  estimation,  but  it  affords  convincing  proof 
that  plants  cannot  depend  upon  the  atmosphere  for  their 
supply  of  this  element ;  but  that  they  draw  their  chief  sup- 
ply of  it  from  its  combinations  with  oxygen  and  hydrogen. 

If  it  is  asked  how  the  first  plants  grown  upon  the  soil, 
the  origin  of  vegetable  growth  upon  the  earth,  gained  the 
nitrogen  they  required  to  build  up  their  tissues,  it  may  be 
replied,  that  in  this  case,  the  earliest  plants  grown  were  not 
of  that  highly  organized  character  which  demanded  a  large 
proportion  of  nitrogen.  In  the  coal  beds,  which  were  form- 
ed of  vast  deposits  of  vegetable  matter  accumulated  during 
lengthened  periods  of  time,  are  found  plants  t)f  a  far  lower 
character  than  those  grown  as  farm  crops.  Mosses,  ferns, 
and  semi-aquatic  plants  made  up  the  larger  bulk  of  them, 
and  as  these  died  and  decayed,  the  little  nitrogen  they  pos- 
sessed gradually  accumulated  in  the  soil  in  the  mass  of  de- 


88  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

cayed  matter  which  remained.  This  process  continually- 
repeated,  laid  a  foundation  for  a  higher  character  of  vege- 
table growth ;  until  in  time  the  soil  became  well  supplied 
with  organic  matter;  and  fitted  for  the  occupation  of  man, 
who  afterwards  appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  entered  into 
possession  of  a  soil  abounding  in  accumulated  fertility. 
We  know  of  our  own  knowledge  that  the  soil  we  cultivate, 
however  rich  it  may  be  at  the  first,  is  very  quickly  ex- 
hausted of  nitrogen,  and  that  a  renewed  supply  is  indispen- 
sable to  the  growth  of  crops.  This  exhaustion  is  so  rapid 
that  there  connot  be  any  material  addition  to  the  supply, 
from  the  atmosphere. 

The  most  important  combination  of  nitrogen  is  that  with 
hydrogen,  known  as  ammonia;  and  that  this  gas  enters  into 
the  circulation  of  plants  is  rendered  probable  by  a  variety 
of  circumstances. 

It  is  known  that  ammonia  exists  in  the  sap  of  many 
plants ;  as  in  the  beet,  birch,  and  maple,  in  which  it  is  asso- 
ciated with  cane  sugar ;  in  the  leaves  of  tobacco,  in  elder 
flowers,  in  various  fungi  and  in  other  plants.  A  species  of 
chenopodium  actually  exhales  ammonia  from  its  leaves ;  it 
also  appears  in  the  odorous  exhalations  of  many  other 
plants  and  flowers. 

Ammonia  can  be  procured  from  nearly  all  vegetable  sub- 
stances by  distillation;  and  many  vegetable  extracts  are 
found  to  contain  it.  When  wood  is  distilled  in  retorts  for 
the  manufacture  of  acid,  ammonia  is  produced. 

These  and  other  facts  of  similar  bearing  are  in  no  wise 
proofs  that  ammonia  is  the  form  in  which  nitrogen  enters 
into  the  substance  of  plants ;  either  through  the  roots  or  the 
leaves ;  because  there  are  ways  in  which  it  could  be  pro- 
duced in  the  plant  by  the  same  converting  power  which 
produces  sugar  and  starch  in  the  interior  of  the  plant  from 
carbonic  acid  and  water ;  and  while  ammonia  is  easily  pro- 
duced from  coal  and  wood,  yet  we  know  that  it  does  not 
actually  exist  in  these  substances  in  their  natural  condition. 
In  the  case  of  tobacco,  the  production  of  ammonia  by  means 
of  a  high  temperature  may  be  illustrated  by  a  simple  ex- 


EFFECT   OF   AMMONIA   UPON   VEGETATION.  89 

periment.  The  sap  and  dried  leaves  of  this  plant  contain 
nitrate  of  potash  (saltpeter)  and  a  small  quantity  of  am- 
monia. When  the  dried  leaves  are  burned  kmmonia  is 
given  ojff  in  sensible  quantities  with  the  smoke,  and  can  be 
detected  by  bringing  a  piece  of  reddened  litmus  paper  into 
contact  with  the  smoke  when  the  color  will  be  changed  to 
a  blue;  or  by  using  a  feather  dipped  into  vinegar  or  any 
weak  acid,  the  white  cloud  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  will 
appear.  (Litmus  paper  is  used  for  testing  the  presence  of 
acids  and  alkalies.  It  is  absorbent  paper  steeped  in  a  red  or 
blue  vegetable  coloring  matter,  as  the  juice  of  red  cabbage, 
of  the  red  beet,  or  of  the  berries  of  the  poke  root.  Litmus 
is  a  red  color  obtained  from  some  species  of  lichens,  and  is 
changed  to  blue  by  ammonia.  An  alkaline  liquid  or  vapor 
will  change  the  red  to  blue,  and  an  acid  will  change  the 
blue  to  red  again.  This  test  can  be  used  by  farmers  in  a 
variety  of  ways;  in  detecting  the  escape  of  ammonia  from 
manure,  or  acidity  in  milk). 

In  this  case  however  the  ammonia  may  be  in  part  pro- 
duced by  the  combustion,  which  decomposes  the  water  con- 
tained in  the  tobacco — to  the  extent  of  14  per  cent,  in  its 
usual  air  dry  condition — and  thus  disengages  hydrogen, 
which  can  easily  combine  with  the  nitrogen  disengaged  in 
the  combustion  of  nitrate  of  potash  present  in  the  leaves, 
and  so  form  ammonia. 

But  there  are  other  circumstances  which  tend  to  favor 
the  belief,  in  a  much  stronger  manner,  that  ammonia  does 
enter  into  the  circulation  of  plants  in  many  cases. 

Experience  has  shown  that  plants  grow  most  rapidly  and 
luxuriantly  when  liberally  supplied  with  manures  con- 
taining animal  substances.  Dried  blood ;  fish  scrap ;  guano ; 
the  dung  of  fowls ;  decomposed  urine  and  night  soil;  are  all 
rich  in  ammonia  and  are  the  most  efficacious  of  manures. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  salts  of  ammonia.  These  substances 
are  used  when  in  a  state  of  decomposition  and  when  the 
evolution  of  ammonia  is  in  most  active  progress.  Flowering 
plants  also  grow  with  greater  luxuriance  when  a  small 
quantity  of  ammonia  is  added  to  the  w  ater  given  to  them.   In 


90  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  writers  garden  at  the  present  time  is  a  bed  of  red  cab- 
bage; through  the  center  of  which  flows  a  drain  from  the 
yard  in  which  the  manure  from  the  horse  stable  is  kept.  On 
both  sides  of  this  drain,  for  about  3.  feet,  the  red  cabbages 
are  blue :  and  their  growth  is  far  more  luxuriant  than  that 
of  other  plants  distant  from  the  drain.  Is  not  this  a  dis- 
tinct illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  ammonia  from  the  li- 
quid manure;  in  which  it  is  shown  to  be  abundant  by  the 
litmus  paper  test ;  is  absorbed  by  the  cabbages  and  acts  up- 
on the  coloring  matter  with  its  usual  effect? 

In  all  these  cases  however  the  proof  is  not  decisive;  but 
it  is  quite  sufficient  to  make  it  appear  that  the  probabilities 
are  all  in  favor  of  the  belief  that  ammonia  does  enter  into 
the  tissues  of  plants  when  brought  in  solution  in  water  to 
the  roots  and  to  justify  us  in  holding  this  belief.  But  ac- 
tual proof  is  wanted  before  this  can  be  asserted  as  a  fact. 
The  changes  which  occur  in  nature  are  so  involved ;  so  in- 
tricate ;  so  sudden ;  and  so  unexpected  when  experience  is 
at  fault ;  that  we  should  hesitate  to  found  a  belief  upon  any 
but  the  strongest  evidence,  or  to  base  a  principle,  or  a  law 
for  our  guidance,  upon  anything  but  accurate  and  well  de- 
termined knowledge.  So  far  as  the  question  under  consid- 
eration is  concerned  this  knowledge  is  wanting ;  but  a  mass- 
of  observed  facts  tending  thereto  is  all  that  we  possess. 
Other  soluble  compounds  of  nitrogen  are  formed  during  the . 
decay  and  oxidation  of  animal  substances  and  actually  ex- 
ist in  the  liquid  manures  of  the  stable  and  yards,  and  they 
are  likely  to  be  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  plants  when  ap- 
plied to  the  soil.  Thus  urea,  a  compound  of  carbon,  hy- 
drogen, nitrogen  and  oxygen,  and  containing  about  one- 
third  of  its  weight  of  nitrogen,  exists  abundantly  in  urine^ 
and  by  its  decomposition  produces  carbonate  of  ammonia. 
Being  very  soluble  this  substance  may  enter  with  water  in- 
to the  roots  of  plants  and  be  decomposed  within  the  tissues 
and  made  to  give  up  its  nitrogen.  The  same  may  be  ap- 
plied to  other  compounds  of  nitrogen ;  so  that  while  the  fact 
that  animal  manures  are  very  beneficial  to  the  growth  of 
plants,  may  be  considered  as  favoring  the  probability  that 


EFFECTS   OF   NITRIC   ACID   UPON   VEGETATION.  91 

the  ammonia  ccntained  in  such  manures  enters  into  th& 
substance  of  plants  and  yields  up  nitrogen  to  them,  it  must 
also  be  considered  that  a  portion  of  the  nitrogen  contained 
in  plants  and  procured  from  decaying  animal  substances, 
may  be  obtained  from  other  compounds  of  it  than  ammonia,, 
and  in  which  ammonia  may  not  exist. 

Nitric  acid  is  invariably  present  in  the  juices  of  plants 
in  combination  with  potash,  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia. 
Therefore  all  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  facts  above  noted 
are  also  applicable  to  the  belief  that  this  acid  is  one  of  the 
sources,  at  least,  from  whence  the  nitrogen  of  plants  is  de- 
rived. This  acid  has  been  detected  in  tobacco,  and  the  sun- 
flower, and  in  the  grain  of  barley  in  the  form  of  nitrate  of 
soda.  If  we  were  therefore  to  infer  from  these  fa6ts  that 
this  acid  really  enters  the  roots  of  plants  we  might  draw  a 
certain  conclusion.  Like  other  compounds  of  nitrogen,  it 
may  have  been  formed  in  the  interior  of  plants  during  the 
many  changes  there  effected,  and  hence  its  presence  proves 
no  more  in  regard  to  a  solution  of  the  question  at  issue  than 
the  presence  of  ammonia.  The  same  uncertainty  would 
still  exist. 

But  the  most  recent  investigations  go  to  show  that  of 
all  the  forms  in  which  nitrogen  enters  into  plants,  nitric 
acid  is  the  most  probable  one.  It  exerts  a  powerful  in- 
fluence upon  growing  crops  of  grass  and  grains.  It  changes 
the  color  of  the  leaves  to  an  intense  green  in  a  short  time  ; 
and  largely  increases  the  quantity  of  nitrogenous  matter  in 
grain,  as  well  as  the  yield  of  the  crop.  For  instance  it  has 
been  found  that  a  dressing  of  nitrate  of  soda  has  increased 
the  amount  of  gluten  in  wheat  from  19  to  23  i  percent, 
reducing  the  starch  from  55^  to  49*  per  cent.  Many  other 
similar  instances  are  recorded,  all  tending  to  show  the  fav- 
orable effect  of  nitric  acid  upon  the  growth  of  vegetation. 
Heretofore  a  still  more  striking  instance  has  been  given  of 
similar  results  from  the  use  of  manures  rich  in  ammonia. 
But  recent  researches  of  the  leading  investigators  espec- 
ially those  at  the  Rothampstead  farm  in  England  under 
the  supervision  of  Sir  J.  B.  Lawes,  aided  by  a  most  eflicient 


^2  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

corps  of  assistants,  have  shown  that  there  is  much  reason 
to  believe  that  ammonia  is  oxidized  and  changed  to  nitric 
acid  and  in  this  form  it  is  that  the  nitrogen  enters  into  the 
circulation  of  plants. 

To  sum  up  the  conclusions  in  regard  to  this  question,  of 
such  surpassing  interest  to  farmers,  which  are  presented  by 
a  consideration  of  the  facts  known  in  this  connection,  the 
following  propositions  result. 

First — That  uncombined  nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere  may- 
enter  into  the  circulation  to  a  small  extent,  either  in  its 
natural  form  of  a  gas  or  in  solution  in  water  ;  and  this  prob- 
ably does  happen.  But  the  quantity  so  gained  by  plants 
is  very  small  and  is  wholly  insufficient  for  their  needs  and 
only  a  small  proportion  of  that  which  vegetables  actually 
contain. 

Second. — That  ammonia  has  the  power  of  entering  into 
plants  and  of  yielding  nitrogen  to  them  to  a  very  large  ex- 
tent and  actually  in  excess  of  their  necessities  so  that  the 
normal  quantity  of  nitrogen  in  the  product  is  largely  in- 
creased ;  and  it  does  appear,  but  is  not  proved,  that  plants 
do  derive  nitrogen  from  this  source. 

Third. — That  in  like  manner  nitric  acid  has  the  power  of 
entering  into  plants  and  of  yielding  nitrogen  to  them  to  a 
larger  extent  than  they  need  to  produce  a  normal  product 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  plants  do  derive  the 
largest  portion  of  the  nitrogen  they  contain  from  this 
source. 

Fourth. — But  there  is  also  reason  to  believe  that  ammo- 
nia is  changed  to  nitric  acid  in  the  soil,  and  perhaps  in  the 
plants,  and  in  this  combination  it  is  that  nitrogen  enters 
the  roots  of  plants  and  contributes  to  their  substance. 


THE   INOEGAlfIC   ELEMENTS   OF   PLANTS. 


PART      SECOND. 

CHAPTER    XV. 
THE  INORGANIC  ELEMENTS  OF  PLANTS. 

When  any  vegetable  substances  are  burned  in  the  air,, 
the  whole  of  the  organic  elements  disappear,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  ash  remains.  The  proportion  of  the  substance 
which  has  disappeared  varies  from  88  to  99  per  cent.  This 
has  all  been  derived  from  the  air,  and  is  made  up  of  the 
four  elements  which  have  occupied  our  attention  up  to  this 
point.  The  small  remnant  left  after  complete  combustion 
constitutes  the  inorganic  elements  of  plant  growth.  These 
are  now  to  be  studied. 

The  results  of  recent  investigations  have  wholly  exploded 
the  notions  which  formerly  prevailed,  to  the  effect  that  this 
inorganic  matter  was  of  no  serious  importance  to  the  crops, 
and  was  a  mere  accidental  circumstance,  and  might  be  ab- 
sent without  any  serious  detriment  to  the  growth  of  the 
plants.  It  was  discovered  in  course  of  careful  experiments 
that  this  ash  of  the  plants  represented  exactly  the  various 
mineral  substances  which  were  taken  from  the  soil,  and  that 
these,  to  the  smallest  proportion,  were  of  vital  necessity  to 
the  plants. 

The  results  of  long  continued  study,  finally  gathered  into 
systematic  order,  showed  that  on  whatever  soil  a  plant  might 
be  growii  and  mature  its  seed  fully,  the  quantity  and  char- 
acter of  the  ash  is  nearly  the  same ;  and  that  though  grown 
on  the  same  soil,  plants  of  different  species  and  character 
leave  an  ash  entirely  unlike;  the  ash  varying  characteristic 


■94  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

<3ally  with  the  species.  Moreover  it  was  found  that  when  a 
plant  was  grown  out  of  the  soil ;  and  with  its  roots  envel- 
oped only  in  water;  it  grew  with  equal  luxuriance  as  if 
grown  in  the  soil,  provided  that  the  water  held  in  solution 
the  same  mineral  substances  which  were  found  in  the  ash  of 
the  same  species,  together  with  the  needed  quantity  and 
variety  of  its  organic  elements.  Thus  the  soil  was  found  to 
possess  functions  of  more  importance  to  plant  growth  than 
the  mere  mechanical  support  for  its  roots,  and  really  sup- 
plied to  the  plant  a  number  of  constituents  without  which, 
or  any  one  of  which,  the  growth  was  enfeebled  or  wholly 
failed.  Hence  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  ash 
of  plants  represented  really  essential  portions  of  their  nutri- 
ment, and  the  farmer  then  was  able  to  understand  the  whole 
secret  of  the  art  of  manuring ;  viz ;  that  to  grow  abundant 
crops  every  constituent  part  of  the  plants  must  be  present 
in  the  soil,  or  if  not,  they  must  be  supplied  to  it  in  the  form 
of  manures  or  fertilizers.  This  discovery  necessarily  modi- 
fied the  notions  held  by  farmers,  and  regulated  the  prac- 
tices of  agriculture  in  every  branch.  One  of  the  most  use- 
ful reforms  in  thought  and  practice  was  to  abolish  the  idea 
which  was  prevalent  among  unintelligent  farmers,  viz,  that 
books  and  other  literature  were  totally  useless  to  them,  and 
that  the  only  way  to  become  good  farmers  w^as  to  spend  a 
life  time  in  copying  the  ways  and  methods  of  older  men, 
and  learning  from  them  what  they  knew  of  their  art.  We 
have  now  learned  that  while  this  is  all  useful,  there  is  some- 
thing else  which  is  pre-eminently  necessary ;  viz ;  to  study 
the  laws  of  plant  growth  and  with  the  knowledge  thus 
gained  from  books  and  other  sources  to  give  careful  and  in- 
telligent consideration  to  the  nature  of  the  soil ;  the  princi- 
ples upon  which  its  proper  culture  are  based ;  the  most 
perfect  machinery  for  this  culture;  the  ait  of  manuring; 
the  nature  and  use  of  artificial  fertilizers;  and  the  produc- 
tion of  manure,  made  richer  in  the  needed  elements  of 
pl^nt  growth  by  feeding  cattle.  And  for  the  purpose  of 
encouraging  this  study  and  of  spieading  abroad  the  neces- 
sary information  for  it ;  a  special  literature  devoted  to  agri- 


THE   FEEDING   FUNCTIONS   OF   PLANTS.  95 

<;iilture,  consisting  of  books  and  periodical  journals,  sprang 
into  existence,  and  was  eagerly  procured  and  read;  and 
lastly  special  schools  for  teaching  the  science  and  art  of 
farming  were  established  jointly  with  farms  and  laboratories 
for  experimental  culture  and  chemical  investigations.  Thus 
step  by  step  the  art  of  growing  farm  crops  became  an  intelli- 
gent industry,  and  farmers  are  respected  in  proportion  to 
the  importance  and  dignity  of  their  vocation. 

For  all  this  we  are  indebted  to  numerous  pains-taking 
men,  who  with  unusual  self-denial,  patience,  and  per- 
severance, have  spent  their  lives  in  industrious  retirement ; 
heard  of  by  few  and  known  by  less;  busy  in  their  fields 
and  experimental  plots,  or  hidden  in  their  laboratories; 
gradually  building  up,  fragment  by  fragment,  the  grand 
edifice  of  knowledge  which  now  represents  what  every  man 
who  desires,  may  know  of  the  culture  of  farm  crops. 

One  very  important  point  of  this  knowledge  is  the  fact 
that  vegetables  feed — that  is,  absorb  and  assimilate  or  build 
up  their  substance — upon  mineral  substances,  as  well  as  up- 
on the  remains  of  vegetable  matter.  That  while  these  re- 
mains in  the  shape  of  completely  decomposed  farm  manure, 
or  animal  matters,  contain  the  various  inorganic  compounds 
which  are  found  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  and  which  are 
known  to  be  necessary  to  their  growth,  yet  j;he  same  com- 
pounds drawn  from  a  mineral  origin,  are  equally  serviceable 
as  plant  food.  Thus,  lime  procured  from  the  lime  kilns; 
potash  from  the  rocks  of  which  it  forms  a  part;  gypsum  or 
plaster;  phosphate  of  lime;  soda  in  the  form  of  salt,  or  as 
nitrate  of  soda ;  sulphate  of  magnesia;  and  other  mineral 
substances;  when  finely  ground,  and  made  soluble,  produce 
precisely  the  same  results  when  used  as  fertilizers  as  the 
same  substances  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  or  in  their  decayed 
remains.  They  are  absorbed  by  plants  with  equal  facility, 
and  are  utilized  in  the  same  way  and  to  the  same  extent,  in 
forming  the  tissues  of  the  plants.  They  are  in  fact  plant 
food.  Hence  the  common  idea  that  these  fertilizing  sub- 
stances are  stimulants  only,  and  merely  encourage  the 
crops  to  put  forth  some  unusual  efifort,  so  to  speak,  by  which 


96  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

some  unnatural  and  excessive  product  is  yielded,  is  a  wholly 
wrong  and  mistaken  one.  Wrong  terms  and  ideas  are  in- 
jurious, notwithstanding  that  a  name  has  no  effect  in  chang- 
ing the  nature  of  anything;  for  they  lead  to  wrong  prac- 
tices and  grave  errors  in  the  management  of  the  crops,  and 
these  cannot  fail  to  result  in  loss. 

The  inorganic  substances  upon  which  plants  feed  and 
which  they  extract  by  their  roots  from  the  soil,  have  been 
mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  but  they  may  be  conven- 
iently repeated.  They  are  lime;  potash;  soda;  magnesia; 
sulphur  and  sulphuric  acid;  phosphoric  acid;  silica  and 
chlorine.  These,  with  the  exception  of  sulphur  and  chlor- 
ine, which  are  elements,  are  the  oxides  of  metals  which  are 
elementary  substances.  The  first  four  are  usually  found  in 
the  ashes  of  plants  combined  with  carbonic  acid  as  carbon- 
ates; lime  however  is  found  ae  a  sulphate  being  combined 
with  sulphuric  acid  in  the  ashes  of  clover  and  a  few  other 
plants.  There  are  a  few  other  substances  of  inorganic  ori- 
gin which  are  occasionally  found  in  plants,  such  as  iron, 
manganese,  iodine,  &c.  but  these  are  evidently  accidentally 
absorbed  with  the  water  in  Avhich  they  happen  to  be  in  sol- 
ution, and  being  innoxious  do  not  interfere  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  plants,  but  are  not  strictly  plant  food. 

The  proportion  of  the  various  mineral  elements  of  plant 
growth  varies  greatly  in  the  different  species  of  vegetables; 
so  much  so  as  to  become  a  leading  characteristic  with  them. 
Thus  there  are  what  may  be  called  potash  plants;  lime 
plants;  soda  plants,  &c.;  and  these  dominant  elements  will 
be  found  to  have  a  considerable  bearing  upon  the  question 
of  fertilizing  crops,  to  be  hereafter  treated.  Thus  on  refer- 
ence to  the  tables  given  in  the  next  chapter,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  ash  of  the  stems  and  leaves  of  potatoes  contain  from 
39  to  46  per  cent,  of  lime  and  16  to  22  per  cent,  of  mag- 
nesia; pea  straw  cantains  38  per  cent,  of  lime;  but  wheat 
straw  only  6  per  cent.;  and  the  tubers  of  potatoes  only  2t 
per  cent.;  while  the  ash  of  the  last  mentioned  contains  60 
per  cent,  of  potash;  that  of  turnips  50  per  cent.,  clover  35 
to  50  per  cent.;  of  young  grass  56  per  cent.;  and  of  tobacco- 


THE  LAWS  OF  PLANT  GROWTH.  97 

27  i  per  cent.  The  dried  tobacco  plant  has  24  per  cent,  of 
ash  while  the  whole  wheat  plant  has  but  3  J  per  cent.  It 
must  not  be  supposed  that  these  peculiarities  are  of  no  im- 
portance to  the  farmer,  and  that  the  fact  that  the  ash  of 
beets,  turnips,  and  carrots,  including  leaves  and  roots  to- 
gether, contains  from  12  to  24  J  per  cent,  of  soda,  and  from 
6  to  11  per  cent,  of  chlorine;  while  that  of  most  other 
plants  contain  a  very  insignificant  quantity  of  these  sub- 
stances; or  that  the  ash  of  clover  contains  along  with  the 
large  quantity  of  lime  a  considerable  amount  of  sulphuric 
acid,  and  that  this  acid  exists  in  the  ash  of  turnips,  cabbage, 
rape  and  kolil-rabi,  mustard  and  other  plants  of  the  Oru- 
cijerce  family  to  the  enormous  extent  of  from  8  to  16}  per 
cent.  For  these  facts  explain  the  reason  why  an  applica- 
tion of  salt  (chloride  of  sodium)  and  of  gypsum  (sulphate 
of  lime)  furnishes  these  elements  to  the  crops  mentioned,  and 
thus  supplies  necessary  food  without  which  they  could  not 
grow.  It  results,  in  fact,  that  the  soil  must  contain  all  these 
substances,  which  are  found  in  their  ashes,  in  such  quantity 
and  in  such  form  as  to  yield  easily  to  each  crop  as  much  of 
each,  as  the  plant  specially  requires.  This  is  the  first  grand 
law  which  controls  the  culture  of  farm  crops.  The  second 
is  that  the  soil  must  be  brought  into  such  a  proper  condition 
by  tillage,  as  to  enable  the  roots  of  plants  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  needed  food  which  it  contains. 

A  special  study  should  be  made  of  the  tables  given  in  the 
next  chapter  and  specially  placed  by  themselves  that  they 
may  attract  the  notice  which  they  demand.  For  a  third 
law  controlling  the  growth  of  plants  is,  that  if  one  of  these 
necessary  substances  is  wanting  in  the  soil,  or  is  existing  there 
in  deficient  quantity,  the  crop  will  prove  a  failure;  it  will 
either  be  weak  and  diseased  (for  it  is  the  weak  and  ill  nour- 
ished plants — and  animals  equally — which  are  subject  to 
disease)  or  it  will  fail  to  grow  at  all. 

The  intelligent  farmer  will  then  naturally  ask  what  are 
these  mineral  or  inorganic  substances  upon  which  plants 
depend  for  their  successful  growth,  and  in  what  proportion 
do  they  require  them;  and  further,  in  what  proportions  do 


98  THE  CULTURE  OF  FAEM  CROPS. 

these  needed  mineral  substances  exist  in  the  soil;  and  ^vlien 
any  of  them  are  deficient,  how  can  they  be  supplied  in  the 
easiest,  most  advantageous  and  most  economical  manner? 

The  first  of  these  questions  will  be  answered  by  the  tables 
given  in  the  next  chapter  and  the  others  will  be  considered 
in  their  turn. 


THE  ASH,   OR  MINERAL  PARTS  OF   PLANTS. 


CHAPTEK    XVI. 

THE  ASH  OF  CULTIVATED  PLANTS  AND  ITS  VARIED 
COMPOSITION. 

In  the  following  tables  collected  from  various  sources  in 
which  the  results  of  thousands  of  experiments  by  the  most 
noted  agricultural  chemists  and  investigators  have  been 
published,  will  be  found  the  average  composition  of  the  ash 
of  the  plants  named.  These  plants  have  been  gathered  from 
the  crops  grown  under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  when 
there  has  been  any  unusual  variation  in  any  samples,  a 
large  number  of  analyses  have  been  made  and  an  average 
taken.  These  analyses  have  been  verified  so  often  by  more 
recent  examinations  that  they  have  been  accepted  as  the 
standard,  and  are  used  for  all  purposes,  and  for  reference  in 
all  recent  agricultural  study.  They  may  therefore  be  ac- 
cepted by  students  with  the  utmost  confidence  and  reliance. 
They  are  given  in  full  because  hereafter  frequent  allusions 
and  references  will  be  given  to  them  in  future  chapters. 

Composition  of  the  Ash  of  Agricultural 
Products. 


o 


Substances.                S|  ^  ^  F  .§  p-'S  ll  ;§  § 

0,  S  g  CO  o 
HAY  AND  GRASS. 

Ordinary  hay 7.78  25.6  7.0  4.9  11.6  6.2  5.1  29.6  8.0 

Young  grass 9.32  56.2  1.8  2.8  10.7  10.5  4.0  10.3  2.0 

Ripe  hay 7.73  7.6  2.9  3.4  12.9  4.4  0.7  63.1  5.7 

Timothy 7.1  28.8  2.7      3.7  9.4  10.8  3.9  35.6  5.0 

Hungarian 7.23  37.4  8.0  10.8  5.4  3.6  29.1  6.4 

CLOVER  AND  FODDER  PLANTS. 

Red  Clover 6.72  34.5  1.6  12.2  34.0  9.9  3.0       2.7  3.7 

White  Clover 7.16  17.5  7.8  10.0  32.2  14.1  8.8       4.5  3.2 

Lucorn 7.14  25.3  1.1  5.8  48.0  8.5  6.1       2.0  1.9 

Alsike  clover 5.53  33.8  1.5  15.3  31.9  10.1  4.0       1.2  2.8 

Green  pea  (in  flower) 7.40  40.8  0.2  8.2  28.7  13.2  3.5       2.6  1.8 

Green  rape 8.97  32.3  3.8  4.5  23.1  8.7  16.3       3.2  7.6 


100 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


ROOT  CROPS  (Roots.) 

Potatoes 3.74      59.8      1.6  4.5  2.3 

Beets 6.8G      53.1    14.8  5.1  4.6 

Sugarbeets 4.35      49.4      9.6  8.9  6.3 

Turnips 8.28      39.3    11.4  3.9  10.4 

Rutabagas 7.68     57.2      6.7  2.6  9.7 

Carrots 6.27      36.7    22.1  5.3  10.7 

ROOT  CROPS  (Leaves  and  Stems. 

Potatoes  (green) 8.92      14.5      2.7  16.8  39.0 

(ripe) 5.12       6.3      0.8  22.6  46.2 

Beets 15.90    29.1    2L0  9.7  11.4 

Sugar  beets 17.49    22.1    16.8  18.3  19.7 

Turnips 13.68    22.9      7.8  4.5  32.4 

Carrots 13.57    14.1    23.1  4.6  33.0 

Cabbage. 10.81    48.6      3.9  3.3  15.3 

STRAW. 

Winter  wlieat 4.96    11.5     2.9  2.6  6.2 

Winter  rye 4.81    18.7      3.3  3.1  7.7 

Springrye 5.55    23.4  2.8  8.9 

Barley 5.10    21.6     4.5  2.4  7.6 

Oats 5.12    22.0      5.3  4.0  8.2 

Corn 5.49    35.3      L2  5.5  10.5 

Peas 5.74    2L8      5.3  7.7  37.9 

Beans  7.12    44.4      3.8  7.8  23.1 

Buckwheat 6.15    46.6      2.2  3.6  18.4 

Rape 4.58    25.6    10.3  5.7  26.5 

CHAFF. 

Wheat 10.73      9.1      L8  1.3  L9 

Barley 14.23      7.7      0.9  1.3  10.4 

Oats 9.22    13.1      4.8  2.6  8.9 

Corn  (cobs) 0.56    47.1      1.2  4.1  3.4 

FIBER  PLANTS. 

Flax  (entire) 4.30    34.2     4.8  9.0  15.5 

Hemp      "      4.60    18.3      3.2  9.6  43.4 

Hops       "       9.87    26.2      3.8  5.8  16.0 

Tobacco 24.08    27.4      3.7  10.5  37.0 

LITTER. 

Heath 4.51    13.2      5.3  8.4  18.8 

Fern 7.1      42.8      4.5  7.7  14.0 

Sea-weeds 14.39.    14.5    24.0  9.5  13.9 

Beech      leaves 6.75      5.2      0.6  6.0  44.9 

Oak               "     4.90      3.5      0.6  4.0  48.6 

White  pine  "     1.40    10.1  9.9  41.4 

Red  pine      "      5.82      1.5  2.3  15.2 

Salt  black  grass 5.30    36.6      6.6  6.4  9  5 

Salt  marsh  grass 8.08    33.2      7.3  4.2  5.3 

GRAINS  AND  SEEDS. 

Wheat 2.07    31.1      3.5  12.2  3.1 

Rye 2.03    30.9      1.8  10.9  2.7 

Barley 2.55    21.9      2.8  8.3  2.5 

Oats.! 3.07    15.9      3.8  7,3  3.8 

Com 1.42    27.0      1.5  14.6  2.7 


19.1 

6.6 

2.3 

2.8 

9.6 

3.3 

3.3 

6.6 

14.3 

4.7 

3.5 

2.0 

13.3 

14.3 

2.4 

4.1 

15.3 

8.4 

0.5 

5.1 

12.5 

6.4 

2.0 

3.2 

.) 

6.1 

5.6 

8.0 

4.6 

5.5 

5.5 

4.2 

3.0 

5.1 

7.4 

4.8 

11.3 

7.4 

8.0 

3.1 

5.7 

8.9 

9.9 

3.8 

8.2 

4.7 

7.9 

5.6 

7.1 

15.8 

8.5 

L2 

2.5 

5.4 

2.9 

66.3 

4.7 

L9 

58.1 

6.5 

2.6 

55.9 

4.3 

3,7 

53.8 

4.2 

3.5 

48.7 

8.1 

5.2 

38.0 

7.8 

5.6 

5.7 

6.1 

7.0 

0.2 

5.4 

13.1 

11.9 

5.3 

5.5 

7.7 

7.0 

7.1 

6.7 

12.4 

4.3 

81.2 

2.0 

3.0 

70.8 

0.3 

2.5 

59.9 

4.4 

L9 

26.4 

23.0 

4.9 

2.6 

5.& 

1L6 

2.8 

7.6 

2.5 

12.1 

5.4 

2.5 

4.6 

3.6 

3.9 

9.6 

4.5 

5.1 

4.4 

35.2 

2.1 

9.7 

5.1 

6.1 

10.2 

3.1 

24.0 

1.7 

10.1 

4.2 

3.7 

33.9 

0.4 

8.1 

4.4 

30.9 

16.4 

4.4 

13.1 

4.4 

8.2 

2.8 

70.1 

6.4 

8.7 

10.9 

14.2 

6.7 

3.3 

31.5 

5.Q. 

46.2 

2.4 

L7 

47.5 

2.3 

1.5 

32.8 

2.3 

27.2 

20.7 

1.6 

46.4 

44.7 

LI 

2.2 

COMPOSITION   OF   FAEM   CROPS.  101 

Rice 7.84    18.4  4.5  8.6        5.1  47.2  0.6  0.6 

Millet 4.49    11.9  1.0  8.4        1.0  23.4  0.2  52.3 

Sorghum 1.86    23.0  3.3  14.8        1.3  50.9  7.5 

Buckwheat 1.07    23.1  6.2  13.4  3.3  48.0  2.1  1.7 

Rape 4.24    23.5  1.1  12.2  13.8  43.9  3.6  1.1  0.3 

Cotton 7.80    37.42  8.6  16.10      3.0  33.16  0.27  2.8  0.2 

Flax 3.65    32.2  1.8  13.2        8.4  40.4  1.1  1.1  0.1 

Hemp 5.48    20.1  0.8  5.6  23.5  36.3  0.2  11.8  0.1 

Mustard 4.30    15.9  5.8  10.2  18.8  39.0  4.7  2.4  0.4 

Turnip 3.98    21.9  1.2  8.7  17.4  40.2  7.1  0.7 

Carrot 8.50    19.1  4.8  6.7  88.8  15.8  5.6  5.3  3.3 

Peas 2.81    40.4  3.7  8.0       4.2  36.3  3.5  0.9  2.3 

Beans 3.45    40.5  1.2  6.7  5.2  39.2  5.1  1.2  2.9 

Clover 4.11    37.3  0.6  12.2       6.2  33.5  4.7  2.4  1.3 

WOOD. 

Grape 2.75    29.8  6.7  6.8  87.3  12.9  2.7  0.8  0.8 

Birch 0.31    11.6  5.8  8.9  60.0  8.5  0.3  4.8  0.6 

Beech 0.82    16.1  2.7  14.0  50.2  8.0  1.0  5.4  0.1 

Oak 0.21    10.0  3.6  4.8  73.5  5.5  1.4  1.1  0.2 

Willow 0.45    11.5  5.6  10.1  50.8  16.4  3.1  0.7  0.6 

Elm 1.88    24.1  2.1  10.0  37.9  9.6  5.4  6.2  6.7 

Linden.... 1.42    35.8  6.0  4.2  29.9  4.9  5.3  5.3  1.5 

Apple 1.29    12.0  1.6      5.7  71.0  4.6  2.9  1.8  0.2 

Red  pine 0.25      5.2  26.8  6.2  47.9  5.1  3.0  2.0  4.0 

White  pine 0.28    15.3  9.9     5.9  50.1  5.5  3.0  6.0  0.2 

Balsam  fir 0.31    11.8  4.6      9.1  50.1  5.8  2.3  15.0  0,4 

Larch  (Tamarac) 0.32    15.3  7.7  24.5  27.1  3.6  1.7  3.6  0.6 

LEAVES  OF  TREES. 

Walnut 7.01    26.6                9.8  53.7  4.0  2.7  2.0  0.8 

Beech 6.75      5.2  0.6      6.0  44.9  4.2  3.7  33.9  0.4 

Oak 4.90      3.5  0.6      4.0  48.6  8.1  4.4  30.9 

Fir  (Balsam) 1.40    10.1                9.9  4L4  16.4  4.4  13.1  4.4 

Red  pine 5.82      1.5                2.3  15.2  8.2  2.8  70.1 

White  pine 6.24      3.7                LI  12.1  8.5  L9  66.6 

Maple 6.80    10.2  0.5      6.1  39.6  4.2  3.6  34i0 

Elm 4.88    13.7  0.6      4.1  48.5  8.0  4.3  20.8 

BARK. 

Oak 3.21      5.7  3.2      8.7  42.0  7.1  L5  21.0  1.5 

Maple L37    15.0  3.1      9.0  46.1  6.7  1.4  110 

Birch L33      3.8  5.4      8.2  45.6  7.3  L3  20.1  1.8 

Beech 14.7  0.4      0.2  57.9  0.4  L3  18.0 

Walnut 6.40    1L6  10.6  70.1  5.9  0.2  0.7  0.4 

Elm 7.1        2.2  10.1      3.2  72.7  L6  0.6  8.9 

Linden  8.5     16.1  5.7      8.0  60.8  4.0  0.8  2.3  1.2 

Red  pine 2.81      5.3  4.2      4.7  62.4  2.6  1.0  15.7  0.2 

White  pine 3.30      8.0  3.2      3.0  69.8  2.5  L6  8.4  1.0 

Eir  (Balsam) 2.01      3.0  1.0      1.4  43.7  8.3  0.8  3L1  0.1 

Although  the  consideration  of  the  organic  substance  of 

plants  has  been  passed  for  the  present,  yet  this  being  a  con- 

Tenient  place  for  a  table  showing  the  amount  of  organic 

matter  contained  in  the  common  products  of  the  farm,  this 


102  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

is  given  here  and  will  be  frequently  referred  to  hereafter. 
The  organic  matter  is  separated  from  the  ash,  and  water> 
which  are  also  given,  and  into  two  principal  divisions,  viz: 
that  into  which  nitrogen  chiefly  enters,  and  which  are  com- 
monly referred  to  as  nitrogenous  matter;  or  albuminoids  or 
protein  compounds;  and  that  commonly  called  carbo-hy- 
drates; the  former  consisting  of  carbon;  oxygen;  hydrogen 
and  nitrogen;  and  the  latter  of  carbon,  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen. These  are  often  distinguished  also  as  non-nitrogen- 
ous. 

Composition  of  Agricultural  Products. 

Carbon  &  Hydro- 
gen compounds. 


HAY. 

Meadow  Hay,  poor 14.3 

better 14.3 

"         "  .     medium 14.3 

'•         "      very  good 15.0 

"         "      extra 16.0 

Red  Clover,  poor 15.0 

«'       "         medium 16.0 

"       "        very  good ....16.5 

"       "        extra 16.5 

White  Clover,  medium 16.5 

Lucerne,  medium 16.0 

"        very  good 16.5 

Swedish  Clover 16.0 

Hop  Clover 16.7 

Trefoil 16.7 

Seradella 16.7 

Fodder  Vetch,  medium 16.7 

"  "        very  good 16.7 

Peas  in  bloom 16.7 

Lupine,  medium 16.7 

"         very  good 16.7 

Fodder  Rye 14.3 

Timothy 14.3 

Italian  Rye  Grass 14.3 

English  Rye  Grass.'. 14.3 

French  Rye  Grass 14.3 

Upland  Grasses,  average 14.3 

Hungarian  Grass 18.4 


' 

^8 

1 

1 

5.0 

7.5 

33.5 

38.2 

1.5 

5.4 

9.2 

29.2 

39.7 

2  0 

6.2 

9.7 

26.3 

41.4 

2.5 

7.0 

11.7 

21.9 

41.6 

2.8 

7.7 

13.5 

19.3 

40.4 

3.0 

5.1 

11.1 

28.9 

37.7 

2.1 

5.3 

12.3 

26.0 

38.2 

2.2 

6.0 

13.5 

24.0 

37.1 

2.<y 

7.0 

15.3 

22.2 

35.8 

3.2 

6.0 

14.5 

25.6 

33.9 

8.5 

6.2 

14.4 

33.0 

27.9 

2.5 

6.8 

16.0 

26.6 

31.6 

2.5 

6.0 

15.0 

27.0 

32.7 

3.a 

6.0 

14.6 

26.2 

33.2 

3.S 

5.1 

12.2 

30.4 

32.6 

3.0 

7.5 

13.5 

22.0 

35.6 

4.7 

8.3 

14.2 

25.5 

32.8 

2.«. 

9.3 

19.8 

23.4 

28.5 

2.a 

7.0 

14.3 

25.2 

a4.2 

2.& 

4.6 

17.1 

28.5 

30.9 

2.2 

4.1 

23.2 

25.2 

28.6 

2.2 

5.1 

10.4 

23.1 

44.5 

2.& 

4.5 

9.7 

22.7 

45.8 

3.0 

7.8 

11.2 

22.9 

40.6 

3.2 

6.5 

10.2 

30.2 

36.1 

2.7 

9.9 

11.2 

29.4 

32.6 

2.7 

5.8 

9.5 

28.7 

39.1 

2.6 

5.7 

10.8 

29.4 

38.5 

2.2 

COMPOSITION   OF   FODDER   PLANTS.  103 

GREEN  FODDER. 

Grass  just  before  bloom 75.0  3.1     3.0  6.0  13.1  0.8 

Pasture  Grass 80.0  2.0     3.5  4.0  9.7  0.8 

Rich  Pasture  Grass 78.2  2.2     4.5  "4.0  10.1  1.0 

Italian  Rye  Grass 73.4  2.8     3.6  7.1  12.1  1.0 

English  Rye  Grass 70.0  2.0  3.6  10.6  12.8  1.0 

Timothy  Grass 70.0  2.2      3.4  8.0  16.3  1.1 

Upland  Grasses,  average 70.0  2.1     3.4  10.1  13.4  1.0 

Fodder  Rye 76.0  1.6      3.3  7.9  10.4  0.8 

Fodder  Oats 81.0  1.4  2.3  6.5  8.3  0.5 

Green  Maize,  American 85.0  1.0     1.2  4.7  7.6  0.5 

"       German 83.0  1.0  1.8  4.4  9.3  0.5 

Sorghum 77.3  1.1  2.5  6.7  11.7  0.7 

Hungarian,  in  blossom , 75.0  1.8  3.1  8.5  10.9  0.7 

Pasture  Clover,  young 83.0  1.5  4.6  2.8  7.2  0.9 

Red  Clover,  before  blO££om 83.0  1.5  3.3  4.5  7.0  0.7 

"        in  full  blossom 80.4  1.3  3.0  5.8  8.9  0.6 

White  Clover,  in  blossom 80.5  2.0  3.5  6.0  7.2  O.St 

Swedish  Clover,  at  beginning  of  blossom 85.0  1.5  3.3  4.5  5.1  0.6 

"              "       in  full  blossom 82.0  1.8  3.3  6.0  6.3  0.6 

Lucerne,  quite  young 81.0  1.7  4.5  5.0  7.2  0.6 

"        at  beginning  of  blossom 74,0  2.0  4.5  9.5  9.2  0.8 

Sand  Lucerne,  at  beginning  of  blossom 78.0  1.9  4.0  8.0  7.3  0.8 

Esparsette 80.0  1,5  3.2  6.5  8.2  0.6 

Trefoil 81,5  L6  2,7  6.2  7.3  0.7 

Hop  Clover 80.0  1.5  3.5  6.0  8.2  0.8 

Seradella 80.0  L8  3.0  5,2  8.9  1.1 

Lupine,  medium 85,0  0,7  3.1  5.1  5.7  0.4 

very  good 85.0  0,7  4,2  4.5  5.2  0.4 

Field  Beans  at  beginning  of  blossom 87.3  1.0  2.8*  3.5  5.1  0.3 

Fodder  vetch  at  beginning  of  blossom 82.0  1,8  3.5  5.5  6.6  0.6 

Fodder  Peas  in  blossom 81,5,1,5  3.2  5.6  7.6  0.6 

Buckwheat  in  blossom 85.0  1.4  2,4  4.2  6.4  0.6 

Green  Rape 87.0  L6  2.9  4.2  3.7  0.6 

Fodder  Cabbage 84.7  1.6  2.5  2.4  8.1  0.7 

White  Cabbage 89.0  1.2  1.5  2.0  5.9  0.4 

Cabbage  Stems 82.0  1.9  1.1  2.8  11.9  0.3 

Potato  Tops,  October 78.0  3.0  2.3  6.0  9.7  1.0 

Carrot  leaves 82,2  3,6  3,2  3.0  7.1  1.0 

Fodder  Beet  leaves 90.5  1.8  1,9  1.3  4.0  0.5 

Rutabaga  leaves 88.4  2.3  2.1  1.6  5.2  0.5 

Kohl-rabi  leaves 85.0  1,8  2.8  1.4  8.2  0.8 

Artichoke  Tops 80.0  2.7  3.3  3.4  9.8  0.8 

Fermented  hay  from  Maize 83.5  1.1  L2  5.3  8.0  0.9 

"             "        "        Lupine 79.9  2.9  3.1  6.8  6.5  0.8 

'*            "        "       Beet  leaves 80.0  4.1  3.0  2.7  9.0  L2 

"        "        Potato  Tops 77.0  5.3  2.9  4.7  7.5  2.6 

"             "        "        Red  Clover 79.2  2,1  4,2  5.9  6.4  2.2 

STRAW. 

Winter  Wheat 14,3  4.6  3.0  40.0  36.9  1.2 

Winter  Rye 14.3  4.1  3.0  440  33.3  1.3 

Winter  Barley 14.3  5.5  8.3  43.0  32,5  1.4 

Summer  Barley 14.3  4.1  3.5  40.0  36.7  1.4 

Oat 14.3  4,0  4.0  39,5  36.2  2,0 


104  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Summer  Grain  Straws  medium 14.3  4.1  3.8 

"            "           "      very  good 14.3  6.7  6.9 

Winter        "           "      medium 14.3  4.8  3.0 

"            "      very  good 14.3  5.3  4.5 

Fodder  Vetch 16.0  4.5  7.5 

Pea 16.0  4.5  6.5 

Field  Bean 16.0  4.6  10.2 

Strawof  Legumes,  medium 16.0  4.5  8.1 

"       "          "        verygood 16.0  5.1  10.2 

Lentils 16.0  6.5  14.0 

Lupine 16.0  4.1  5.9 

Seed  Clover 16.0  5.6  9.4 

Rape 16.0  4.1  3.5 

Cornstalks 15.0  4.2  3.0 

CHAFF,  HULLS,  ETC. 

Wheat 14.3  9.2  4.3 

Rye 14.3  7.5  3.6 

Oats 14.3    10.0  4.0 

Barley 14.3    13.0  3.0 

Vetch 15.0  8.0  8.5 

Pea 15.0  6.0  8.1 

Bean 15.0  5.5  10.5 

Lupine 14.8  3.5  4.5 

Rape 14.0  8.5  4.0 

Corncobs 14.0  2.8  L4 

ROOTS  AND  TUBERS. 

Potatoes 75.0  0.9  2.1 

Artichokes 80.0  1.0  2.0 

Fodder  Beetrf 88.0  0.8  1.1 

Sugar  Beets 8L5  0.7  1.0 

Carrots 85.0  0.9  1.4 

Giant  Carrots 87.0  0.8  1.2 

Rutabagas 87.0  1.0  1.3 

Turnips 92.0  0.7  1.1 

Par-snips 88.3  0.7  L6 

GRAINS  AND  FRUITS. 

Wheat 14.4  1.7  13.0 

Rye 14.3  L8  ILO 

Barley 14.3  2.2  10.0 

Oats 14.3  2.7  12.0 

Maize 14.4  1.5  10.0 

Millet 14.0  3.0  12.7 

Buckwheat 14.0  L8  9.0 

Rice,  hulled 14.0  0.5  7.7 

Peas 14.3  2.4  22.4 

Field  Beano 14.5  3.1  25.5 

Vetch 14.3  2.7  27.5 

Lentil 14.5  3.0  23.8 

Lupine  yellow 13.3  3.8  36.2 

blue 13.2  3.2  24.8 

Linseed 12.3  3.4  20.5 

Rape  Seed 11.8  3.9  19.4 

Hemp  Seed 12.2  4.5  16.3 

Cotton  Seed 7.7  7.8  22.8 

Acorns 37.7  L6  3.5 


39.7 

3.4 

1.7 

36.7 

32.9 

2.5 

42.0 

34.9 

L3 

37.8 

36.7 

1.4 

42.0 

29.0 

LO 

38.0 

34.0 

LO 

34.0 

34.2 

1.0 

38.0 

32.4 

LO 

34.5 

33.2 

LO 

33.6 

27.9 

2.0 

40.8 

32.1 

LI 

42.0 

25.0 

2.0 

40.0 

35.4 

LO 

40.0 

36.7 

LO 

36.0 

34.6 

1.4 

43.5 

29.9 

L2 

34.0 

36.2 

1.5 

30.0 

38.2 

1.5 

33.0 

33.5 

2.0 

32.0 

36.9 

2.0 

33.0 

34.0 

2.0 

37.0 

39.0 

L7 

40.6 

31.3 

1.6 

37.8 

42.6 

L4 

LI 

20.7 

0.2 

L3 

15.5 

0.2 

0.9 

9.1 

0.1 

L3 

15.4 

0.1 

L7 

10.8 

0.2 

L2 

9.6 

0.2 

LI 

9.5 

0.1 

0.8 

5.3 

0.1 

LO 

10.2 

0.2 

3.0 

66.4 

1.5 

3.5 

67.4 

2.0 

7.1 

63.9 

2.5 

9.3 

55.7 

6.0 

5.5 

62.1 

6.5 

9.5 

57.5 

3.3 

15.0 

58.7 

L5 

2.2 

75.2 

0.4 

6.4 

52.5 

2.0 

9.4 

45.9 

L6 

6.7 

45.8 

3.0 

6.9 

49.2 

2.6 

13.8 

28.0 

4.9 

12.5 

41.7 

4.6 

7.2 

19.6 

37.0 

10.3 

12.1 

42.5 

12.2 

21.3 

33.6 

16.0 

15.4 

30.3 

7.8 

46.6 

2.8 

DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  YOUNG  AND  MATURE  PLANTS.     105 

Chestnuts 49.2  1.6  4.3  2.0  41.3  1.6 

Apple.s  and  Pears F3.1  0.4  0.3  4.3  11.8 

Pumpkins 89.1  1.0  0.6  2.7  6.5  0.1 

FEEDING  SUBSTANCES.  ' 

Brewers  Grains 76.6  1.2  4.9  5.2  11.0  1.1 

Malt  Sprouts 10.1  7.2  24.3  14.3  42.1  2.1 

Wheat  Bran,  fine 13.1  5.4  14.0  8.7  55.0  3.8 

"      coarse 12.9  6.6  15.0  10.1  52.2  3.2 

Rye  Bran 12.5  5.2  14.5  5.7  58.6  4.5 

Pea  Bran 12.3  3.0  8.0  43.7  30.5  2.5 

Linseed  Meal,  new  proce::s 9.7  7.3  33.2  8.8  38.7  2.3--^ 

Cotton  Seed,  whole  meal 11.3  6.4  23.6  22.0  30.5  6.1 

Cotton  Seed  Meal,  without  hulb 11.2  7.6  38.8  9.2  19.5  13.7 

The  above  figures  show  precisely  what  inorganic,  or  min- 
eral substances,  plants  draw  from  the  soil.  They  also  show 
that  the  quantity  of  inorganic  matter  contained  in  the  same 
weight  of  different  crops  varies  greatly.  Thus  while  the 
grain  of  corn  contains  only  1.42  per  cent,  of  inorganic  mat- 
ter; peas  contain  twice  as  much;  oats  two  and  a  half  times 
as  much;  and  rice  five  and  a  half  times  as  much.  Also  the 
quantity  contained  in  the  various  parts  of  the  same  plant 
varies  in  a  similar  manner.  Wheat  grain  has  but  2.07  per 
cent  of  ash  but  the  straw  has  more  than  twice  as  much 
and  the  chaff  has  over  five  times  as  much.  Barley  shows  a 
still  greater  difierence  in  this  way  and  so  on  through  the 
whole  tables.  The  same  facts  apply  to  trees  and  their  bark 
and  leaves. 

Another  important  point  is  peculiarly  worthy  of  notice; 
this  is  the  difference  between  plants  in  an  early  stage  of 
growth  and  when  they  are  mature.  Young  grass  for  in- 
stance contains  considerably  more  ash  than  ripe  hay  and 
this  ash  consists  of  much  more  important  elements  of  vege- 
table growth.  The  large  quantity  of  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid  shown  to  be  needed  by  such  grass  as  is  used  for  pastur- 
ing, seems  to  disappear  as  it  grows  older  and  to  be  replaced 
by  silica.  What  becomes  of  these  two  substances,  so  valua- 
ble and  indispensable  in  the  aliment  of  animals,  and  which 
gives  to  the  young  stock  the  materials  for  building  up  their 
growing  muscles  and  bones ;  and  how  is  it  that  the  mature 
grass  has  so  large  a  quantity  of  silica  which  is  of  no  use  as 
aliment  to  animals?  But  we  see  a  purpose  in  this,  although 
it  operates  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  farmer.     The  first  law 


106  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

of  nature  is  the  survival  of  all  living  things,  and  the  most 
perfect  fulfillment  of  its  purpose  in  creation.  And  we  see 
an  instance  of  the  perfect  order  and  wise  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends  in  nature,  in  this  excess  of  silica  in  the  stem 
of  a  ripe  herb,  for  it  requires  stiffness  and  strength  to  enable 
it  to  hold  up  the  seed  until  it  ripens.  Were  it  not  for  this, 
silica  in  ripe  hay  and  the  straw  of  the  grains,  the  stems, 
would  not  have  strength  enough  to  stand  upright  and 
would  fall  and  rot  on  the  ground  and  the  seed  would 
perish. 

These  variations  are  not  accidental,  for  they  exist  every- 
where, on  all  soils  and  in  all  climates.  They  must  there- 
fore originate  in  some  natural  and  universal  law.  That 
they  are  so,  inures  to  the  advantage  of  the  farmer  and 
makes  agriculture  possible.  For  otherwise,  there  would  be 
no  certainty  that  afler  he  had  prepared  the  soil  and  had 
sown  his  seed,  he  would  reap  the  crop  he  desired ;  or  that 
what  his  land  produced  would  suit  the  purpose  for  which 
he  intended  it,  either  for  the  subsistence  of  mankind  or  for 
feeding  his  animals.  But  being  based  upon  a  universal 
law,  the  farmer  has  a  safe  and  constant  rule  for  his  guid- 
ance, and  may  be  able  to  furnish  his  crops  with  precisely 
what  they  need,  when  he  has  by  long  use  lessened  the  orig- 
inal fertility  of  the  soil  to  the  point  of  impoverishment. 

Moreover  by  this  law  the  farmer  can  find  a  reason  why 
various  trees  preponderate  in  the  forest  and  learn  from  it 
sufiicient  of  the  character  of  the  land  under  the  surface  soil 
to  guide  him  in  the  choice  of  a  farm.  When  he  sees  the  land 
covered  with  plants  of  the  heath  family,  the  huckleberry; 
cranberry;  &c.:  or  with  a  forest  of  balsam  fir;  or  w^ith 
birch  or  beech  timber;  he  can  as  safely  judge  that  the  soil 
is  light  and  sandy,  as  if  it  were  all  exposed  to  view;  and 
on  the  other  hand  wher^  oaks,  elms,  maples  and  basswood 
flourish  and  grow  to  a  large  size,  he  may  be  sure  that  the 
land  is  rich  in  j^otash,  lime,  and  phosphoric  acid;  the  most 
important  elements  of  plant  food ;  and  that  with  judicious 
cultivation  of  such  soil  his  labor  will  be  rewarded  with 
abundant  crops. 


INORGANIC   ELEMENTS   OP 


CHAPTER 


THE   COMPOUNDS   OF  THE  INORGANIC  ELEMENTS 
OF  PLANTS. 

The  inorganic  elements  of  plants,  viz.  potash;  soda; 
magnesia;  lime;  phosphoric  acid;  sulphuric  acid;  silica, 
and  chlorine,  exist  in  combination;  and  never  in  their 
original  elementary  condition  as  simple  substances.  It  has 
been  shown  that  the  organic  substance  of  plants  contains, 
four  elementary  substances ;  oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  and 
nitrogen  in  various  proportions;  and  that  the  inorganic 
part  of  them  is  made  up  of  eight  elements ;  mentioned  in  a 
previous  chapter ;  and  rarely  of  a  very  small  portion  of  a 
few  others  chiefly,  aluminium,  iron  and  manganese.  These 
eight  elements  are  chiefly  in  combination  as  shown  in  the 
following  enumeration  of  them. 


Name 

In  combination  with 

Forming 

Potassium 

Oxygen 

Potash 

" 

Chlorine 

Chloride  of  Potassium 

Sodium 

Oxygen 

Soda 

*« 

Chlorine 

Salt 

Magnesium 

Oxygen 

Magnesia 

Calcium 

Oxygen 

Lime 

Phosphorus 

Oxygen 

Phosphoric  acid 

Sulphur 

Oxygen 

Sulphuric  acid 

Silicon 

Oxygen 

Silica 

Chlorine 

Metals 

Chlorides 

With  the  exception  of  sulphur  these  elementary  bodies 
are  not  known  to  exist  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  in  their 
simple  uncombined  state,  but  in  combination  as  above  men- 
tioned they  form  the  greater  part  of  the  mass  of  the  earth 
and  of  the  soil  upon  its  surface.  It  is  these  combinations 
which  are  of  interest  to  the  farmer  in  his  study  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  laws  of  vegetable  grow^th. 

POTASSIUM   AND   ITS   COMPOUNDS. 

Potassium  is  of  most  importance  in  its  form  of 
Carbonate  of  Potash, 


108  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

a  combination  of  potash  with  carbonic  acid.  This  is  the 
form  in  which  potash  exists  in  w^ood  ashes ;  and  in  the  pot- 
ash and  pearl  ash  of  commerce.  It  has  a  most  important 
influence  upon  the  growth  of  plants,  as  may  be  seen  by 
reference  to  the  tables  in  the  previous  chapter.  Its  use 
for  this  purpose  as  a  fertilizer  dates  back  to  the  time  of  the 
ancient  Hebrews,  Egyptians,  and  Romans,  and  the  value 
of  wood  ashes  as  a  fertilizer  has  been  mentioned  by  several 
of  the  ancient  writers.  Moreover  it  is  well  known  that 
wood  ashes  are  more  favorable  to  some  plants  than  to  oth- 
<ers,  "bringing  in,"  as  it  is  termed,  plants  like  the  clovers 
which  are  rich  in  potash,  and  so  crowding  out  useless  weeds, 
and  improving  the  land  at  the  same  time. 

Potash  is  extremely  caustic,  destroying  all  vegetable  and 
animal  matter  very  rapidly.  It  is  easily  produced  as  fol- 
lows. 12  parts  by  weight  of  carbonate  of  potash  are  dissolv- 
-ed  in  water  and  boiled  with  half  the  weight  of  newly 
burned  (or  quick  or  caustic)  lime  slaked  in  water,  the  lime 
takes  the  carbonic  acid  from  the  potash  and  settles  to  the 
bottom,  leaving  the  potash  in  solution  in  a  caustic  state. 
C!austic  potash  so  readily  absorbs  water,  from  the  atmos- 
phere, that  it  can  only  be  kept  dry  with  difl[iculty.  It  is 
not  known  that  potash  in  this  form  is  of  any  service  in  the 
growth  of  plants,  but  it  is  thought  possible,  because  of  the 
action  of  lime  upon  the  carbonate;  and  when  lime  is  ap- 
plied to  the  soil,  as  it  frequently  is,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
it  may  exert  this  effect  upon  the  soluble  carbonate  of  pot- 
ash with  which  it  comes  in  contact. 

Potassium,  may  be  obtained  by  mixing  the  dry  caustic 
potash,  procured  by  evaporating  the  solution  above  de- 
scribed to  dryness,  with  powdered  charcoal  and  iron  filings, 
and  submitting  the  mass  to  intense  heat  in  a  closed  retort. 
The  potash  is  decomposed;  its  oxygen  combines  with  the 
iron,  and  the  metal  potassium  is  left  pure  in  the  form  of  a 
vapor  which  is  distilled  over  and  appears,  on  cooling,  in 
the  form  of  white  silvery  drops.  This  process  was  one  of 
the  remarkable  discoveries  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  to  whom 
"we  are  indebted  for  much  that  is  known  of  agricultural 


POTASH   COMPOUNDS.  10^ 

science.  This  metal  can  be  kept  only  in  some  liquid  which 
contains  no  oxygen,  hence  it  is  immersed  for  keeping  in 
pure  turpentine,  or  in  naphtha,  which  are  compounds  of 
carbon  and  hydrogen.  When  exposed  to  the  air  it  is  quick- 
ly oxidized ;  when  it  is  thrown  upon  water,  it  floats  and  ab- 
sorbs oxygen  from  this  fluid,  so  rapidly  that  it  takes  fire 
and  burns.  A  curious  experiment  in  this  direction  may 
be  made  by  placing  a  small  piece  of  the  metal  upon  ice, 
when  it  at  once  inflames  by  combining  with  the  oxygen  of 
the  ice.  Hydrogen  gas  is  of  course  liberated  in  the  decom- 
position of  the  water.  The  oxide  of  potassium  thus  formed 
is  caustic  potash,  and  weighs  one-fifth  more  than  the  potas- 
sium; the  increase  being  due  to  the  oxygen  combined. 

Chloride  of  Potassium,  is  very  useful  as  a  fertilizer,, 
furnishing  to  plants  not  only  potash,  but  chlorine.  It  ex- 
ists in  sea  water  along  with  common  salt ;  it  is  found  mixed 
with  salt  in  the  salt  mines  and  is  extracted  in  large  quan- 
tities from  the  salt  mines  of  Germany,  from  whence  it  is. 
brought  as  "muriate"  (chloride)  of  potash  to  this  country 
and  sold  as  German  potash  salts.  It  consists  of  potassium 
combined  with  chlorine.  It  can  be  easily  produced  by  dis- 
solving pearl  ash  in  hydro-chloric  acid,  until  effervescence 
ceases  and  evaporating  to  dryness.  It  is  extensively  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  alum  which  is  a  double  sulphate  of 
alumina  and  potash.  This  salt  of  potash  is  found  in  the 
ash  of  nearly  all  plants,  and  in  large  quantities  in  sea  weeds;, 
salt  marsh  grasses;  and  sedges. 

Sulphate  of  Potash,  consists  of  potash  and  sulphuric- 
acid  and  is  a  most  useful  and  cheap  form  from  which  pot- 
ash may  be  furnished  to  the  crops.  It  may  be  formed  by 
dissolving  the  carbonate  of  potash  in  sulphuric  acid  until 
gas  (carbonic  acid)  is  no  longer  given  off",  and  evaporating 
the  solution.  It  exists  in  considerable  quantities  in  wood 
ashes,  and  in  the  ashes  of  plants;  and  forms  18  per  cent,  of 
the  weight  of  common  alum.  This  salt  has  been  found  to 
act  beneficially  upon  clovers;  peas;  beans ;  cabbages ;  tur- 
nips ;  rape  and  other  plants :  all  of  which  will  be  founds 
on  reference  to  the  preceding  tables  to  contain  both  potaslk 


110  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

and  sulphuric  acid  in  notable  amounts.     Hence  the  favor- 
able result  of  its  use  as  a  fertilizer  for  these  crops. 

Nitrate  of  Potash  or  saltpeter  is  a  well  known  sub- 
stance and  consists  of  potash  and  nitric  acid,  and  can  be 
formed  by  dissolving  pearl  ash  (carbonate  of  potash)  in 
nitric  acid  and  evaporating.  It  exists  in  large  beds  in 
South  America  and  is  generally  diffused  in  the  soil  in  small 
quantities,  being  produced  wherever  potash  and  decaying 
vegetable  matter  happen  to  be  in  conjunction  in  the  soil, 
by  the  action  of  the  nitrifying  organism  which  exists  in  the 
soil  and  is  supposed  to  aid  in  the  production  of  nitric  acid. 
This  salt  exerts  a  most  remarkable  effect  upon  plants ;  con- 
taining as  it  does  two  of  the  most  important  elements  of 
plant  growth  and  being  extremely  soluble.  As  little  as  50 
lbs.  per  acre,  applied  when  the  soil  was  damp  has  exerted 
a  marked  effect  upon  the  vegetation  in  the  course  of  a  sin- 
gle night. 

Oxalate  of  Potash. — Oxalic  acid  has  not  been  men- 
tioned heretofore,  but  it  deserves  a  passing  notice  here  be- 
cause it  exists  in  many  plants  which  are  known  by  their 
agreeable  acidity.  Sorrel,  and  the  common  garden  rhu- 
barb, owe  their  sourness  to  this  acid ;  it  is  also  found  in  the 
chick  pea ;  several  varieties  of  the  rumex  family  (to  which 
rhubarb  belongs)  as  the  docks;  also  in  tormentilla;  bistort; 
gentian;  saponaria;  and  many  others.  Lichens  and  va- 
rious mosses  also  contain  this  acid  in  combination  with  lime 
and  soda.  It  is  also  noteworthy  because  it  is  closely  akin 
to  carbonic  acid,  being  a  derivative  from  the  element  car- 
bon, consisting  of  two  parts  of  carbon  and  three  of  oxygen, 
and  can  be  easily  formed  in  a  plant  by  the  addition  of  one 
equivalent  of  carbonic  oxide  (C.  O.)  to  one  of  carbonic  ac- 
id (C.  Oo);  forming  t?ogether(C2  O3)  oxalic  acid.  This  acid 
is  very  readily  changed  to  carbonic  acid  by  heat:  thus 
when  oxalate  of  potash  is  heated  in  a  capsule  over  a  lamp, 
it  is  decomposed  and  carbonic  acid  is  left.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  this  salt  of  potash  exists  freely  in  plants  and 
trees,  and  that  this  change  occurs  in  their  combustion,  and 
the  formation  of  the  ashes.     It  may  therefore  perform  an 


SODA  COMPOUNDS.  Ill 

important  part  in  the  changes  which  occur  in  the  interior 
of  plants,  although  its  direct  agency  in  this  direction  has 
not  hitherto  been  distinctly  understood. 

Tartrates  and  Citrates  of  Potash,  exist  in  many 
fruits;  the  citrates  abound  in  the  citrus  class  of  fruits, 
oranges,  lemons,  shaddocks,  and  limes;  and  the  tartrates 
in  grapes.  These  salts  are  easily  decomposed  by  heat  as 
the  oxalate  of  potash  is,  leaving  carbonate  of  potash.  Few 
experiments  have  been  made  in  regard  to  these  compounds 
of  potash ;  probably  because  of  the  slight  difference  between 
them  and  the  carbonate  and  the  ease  with  which  they  can 
be  interchanged  in  the  process  of  growth  of  plants. 

SODIUM   AND   its    COMPOUNDS. 

Sodium  is  never  found  uncombined  and  of  necessity  has 
no  relation  to  vegetation.  It  is  of  some  interest  however 
as  being  the  base  of  various  compounds  which  are  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  growth  of  plants.  Like  potas- 
sium it  is  a  soft  silvery  white  metal,  light  enough  to  float 
upon  water,  and  like  it  will  oxidize  and  burn  on  contact 
w^th  this  fluid.  It  is  produced  from  soda  in  precisely  the 
same  manner.     Its  compounds  are  first 

Chloride  of  Sodium,  or  common  salt.  This  substance 
Is  universally  diffused.  It  forms  2|  per  cent,  of  the  weight 
of  the  ocean  and  is  found  more  or  loss  in  all  soils ;  it  also 
exists  as  a  rock  in  enormous  beds  among  the  strata  of  the 
earth's  crust,  some  of  these  being  considerably  over  a  thou- 
sand feet  in  thickness.  It  forms  a  portion  of  the  substance 
of  all  plants  and  animals,  and  hence  is  of  great  interest  to 
farmers,  as  being  a  most  important  manure  for  crops ;  for 
which  purpose  it  has  been  used  from  the  earliest  ages.  It 
consists  of  sodium  and  chlorine.  It  is  so  well  known  that 
its  properties  need  no  further  consideration  at  this  time. 

Soda,  is  the  oxide  of  sodium,  and  resembles  very  strongly 
the  corresponding  oxide  of  potassium ;  although  its  proper- 
ties are  not  so  strongly  marked.  It  is  extremely  caustic 
and  absorbs  moisture  from  the  air.  The  sodium  compounds 
seem  to  be  everywhere  diffused,  being  found  everywhere, 


112  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

and  even  in  the  particles  of  atmospheric  dust.  But  althougk 
their  presence  is  universal,  they  possess  a  less  marked  im- 
portance in  vegetable  growth  than  the  potash  compounds ; 
appearing  in  much  less  quantity  in  the  ashes  of  plants. 
With  the  exception  of  salt,  none  of  these  compounds  are 
used  in  agriculture,  excepting  incidentally  as  impurities  in 
the  more  costly  potash  fertilizers.  These  consist  of  sulphate 
of  soda  and  chloride  of  sodium  chiefly,  and  are  mingled  to 
a  considerable  extent  with  magnesia  salts  in  the  so  called 
German  potash  salts  from  the  Strassfurth  salt  mines. 

The  universal  diffusion  of  these  compounds  in  nature  sup- 
plies all  the  needs  of  the  farmer  for  the  growth  of  his  crops, 
and  if  any  one  is  thought  necessary,  salt  will  serve  every  pur- 
pose. This  will  be  considered  at  greater  length  when  the 
subject  of  manures  is  under  consideration. 

CALCIUM   AND   ITS   COMPOUNDS. 

Calcium,  like  the  preceding  two  metals  is  silver  white  ia 
color,  and  by  its  union  with  oxygen  forms  lime.  It  is  not 
known  to  exist  in  an  uncombined  state  in  nature  and  there- 
fore has  no  direct  action  upon  vegetation. 

Lime,  is  the  oxide  of  calcium,  and  has  so  very  great  an 
aflinity  for  water  and  for  carbonic  acid  that  it  only  remains 
in  its  pure  state  a  short  time.  It  is  prepared  from  the  com- 
mon limestone,  the  crystallized  form  of  which  is  known  as 
marble,  by  burning  it  in  a  kiln.  The  carbonic  acid  is  driv- 
en off  in  the  combustion,  leaving  the  lime  in  a  caustic  con- 
dition, or  as  it  is  termed  quick  lime,  and  loses  44  per  cent, 
of  its  weight  in  the  burning. 

Lime,  is  by  far  the  most  important  mineral  constituent 
of  plants  and  forms  the  greater  part  of  the  ash  of  the  major- 
ity of  them.  Its  relation  to  plant  growth,  and  its  action  in 
many  ways  upon  the  soil,  gives  it  a  high  position  in  the  es- 
timation of  farmers,  both  as  a  direct  fertilizer,  and  an  indi- 
rect aid  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil  for  the  growth  of  crops. 
It  has  an  exceedingly  destructive  action  upon  all  organic 
matter,  quickly  decomposing  it  and  reducing  it  to  its  origi- 
nal elements,  and  preparing  it  for  plant  food.      It  has  also 


LIME   COMPOUNDS.  113 

a  solvent  action  upon  silica,  decomposing  combinations  of 
it  with  potash,  and  soda,  and  forming  silicates  q£  these  sub- 
stances which  are  soluble ;  thus  forming  a  most  important 
addition  to  the  plant  food  in  the  soil.  It  gradually  absorbs', 
carbonic  acid  from  the  air,  and  from  any  decomposing  or- 
ganic matter  brought  into  contact  with  it,  and  thus  slowly 
returns  to  its  condition  of  a  carbonate  of  lime,  in  which  it 
is  inert,  excepting  when  it  is  dissolved  in  water.  Its  many 
valuable  properties  wdll  be  more  fully  detailed  in  the  chap- 
ter on  manures. 

Chloride  of  Calcium,  is  the  well  known  chloride  of 
lime,  of  daily  use  as  a  disinfectant.  It  has  no  important 
relation  to  plant  growth  although  it  has  a  most  useful  effect- 
in  various  ways  in  purifying  the  air  about  farm  build- 
ings,  manure  yards  and  drains. 

Sulphate  of  Lime  or  gypsum,  is  an  exceedingly  val- 
uable compound  of  lime  and  deserves  special  study.  It  is 
composed  of  32^  parts  of  lime,  46^  of  sulphuric  acid,  and 
21  of  water;  the  water  existing  as  water  of  crystallization 
which  is  driven  off  when  the  gypsum  is  exposed  to  a  heat  of 
300  degrees.  This  substance  is  a  translucent,  yellowish  or 
white,  soft,  rock ;  which  is  easily  ground  into  a  fine  powder. 
It  is  inert  and  exercises  no  action  upon  other  substances, 
but  is  easily  decomposed  when  its  constituents  enter  into 
other  combinations,  as  will  be  hereafter  described.  It  is  a 
most  valuable  fertilizer,  supplying  the  crops  with  sulphuric 
acid  and  lime,  and  enters  in  its  combined  form  into  some 
plants.  It  is  soluble  in  400  times  its  bulk  of  water.  It  is 
largely  and  beneficially  used  as  an  absorl^ent  of  ammonia 
in  stables  and  manure  heaps ;  exercising  this  action  by  the 
ease  with  which  it  parts  with  its  sulphuric  acid ;  giving  this 
up  to  the  ammonia,  from  which  it  takes  in  exchange  car- 
bonic acid ;  thus  forming  carbonate  of  lime  and  sulphate  of 
ammonia. 

Nitrate  of  Lime,  is  little  heard  of  in  agricultural  lit- 
erature and  yet  it  undoubtedly  has  a  most  interesting  rela- 
tion to  plant  growth.  The  production  of  nitric  acid,  arti- 
ficially, in  the  so   called  ''niter  beds,"  has   been   already 


114  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

referred  to,  but  may  be  usefully  recalled  in  this  connection, 
because  nitrate  of  lime  is  formed  as  a  result  of  the  combina- 
tions. This  compound  rapidly  absorbs  water,  and  is  never 
found  as  a  solid  in  its  natural  condition,  but  always  in  so- 
lution as  a  liquid.  It  is  supposed  to  exist  in  all  fertile  soils, 
and  to  furnish  most  valuable  plant  food ;  but  being  extreme- 
ly soluble  and  being  rapidly  changed  to  carbonate  of  lime 
by  a  low  heat,  it  escapes  detection  in  the  analysis  of  soils  or 
vegetable  substances,  while  its  constituents  have  entered  in- 
to other  combinations. 

Phosphate  of  Lime,  formed  by  the  combination  of 
lime  with  phosphoric  acid  is  an  exceedingly  important  ele- 
ment of  vegetable  and  animal  substance.  It  forms  57  per 
cent,  of  the  dried  bones  of  an  animal  and  exists  to  some  ex- 
tent in  every  part  of  its  body.  It  is  largely  contained  in 
the  seeds  of  plants,  and  in  all  the  grasses.  Next  to  nitro- 
gen it  is  the  most  valuable  constituent  of  manures  and  fer- 
tilizers, and  its  sufficient  supply  to  the  soil  gives  the  farmer 
much  care  and  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  culture  and  perfec- 
tion of  his  crops.  It  exists  naturally  in  the  rocks  as  apa- 
tite, or  mineral  phosphate  of  lime,  and  thus  consists  of  54^ 
per  cent,  of  lime,  and  452  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid;  bone 
phosphate  of  lime,  containing  51  i  per  cent,  of  lime,  and  48| 
per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid.  A  bi-phosphate  of  lime  is 
found  in  animal  manures,  chiefly  in  the  urine,  in  which 
there  are  71*  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  and  28?  per 
cent  of  lime.  The  phosphate  of  lime  and  bones,  furnish 
the  basis  for  the  manufacture  of  superphosphate  of  lime 
which  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  fertilizers. 

Magnesium,  is  a  metal  having  many  points  of  similar- 
ity to  those  above  mentioned.  It  is  white,  easily  inflamma- 
ble, and  when  burned  in  the  air  unites  with  oxygen  form- 
ing a  compound  or  earthy  oxide  known  as  magnesia.  It  is 
of  no  direct  interest  in  relation  to  vegetable  growth.  Its 
compounds  enter  into  vegetable  and  animal  substance,  at 
times  to  a  considerable  extent. 

Chloride  of  Magnesium,  exists  in  the  water  of  the 
ocean  to  a  larger  extent  than  chloride  of  sodium  and  gives 


MAGNESIA   COMPOUNDS.  115 

to  it  its  bitter  taste.  It  is  met  with  in  the  ash  of  plants,  and 
also  mixed  with  salt  in  the  water  of  salt  springs  and  in 
rock  salt.  It  therefore  forms  a  constituent  of  the  German 
potash  salts  in  which  it  exists  in  a  considerable  proportion ; 
although  it  is  not  estimated  at  all  in  the  market  value  of 
these  fertilizers. 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia,  is  the  common  Epsom  salts. 
It  has  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  gypsum  in  the  same 
manner,  and  for  the  same  kinds  of  crops,  but  it  is  too  costly 
for  this  purpose.  It  has  been  considered  as  injurious  to 
crops  by  some  farmers,  and  as  it  exists  abundantly  in  al- 
most all  soils,  and  is  an  ingredient  of  widely  distributed 
rocks,  but  little  interest  is  afforded  by  its  consideration. 

Carbonate  of  Magnesia,  is  found  abundantly  in  many 
kinds  of  marble  and  other  limestone  as  an  impurity,  and  is 
not  considered  of  any  value. 

Phosphate  of  Magnesia,  exists  in  the  blood  and  tis- 
sue of  all  animals  and  in  the  ash  of  nearly  all  plants.  It  is 
in  this  form  that  it  chiefly  enters  into  the  substance  of 
plants ;  but  as  it  exists  in  the  soil  in  sufficient  quantities  it 
has  never  been  brought  to  the  notice  of  farmers  as  necessary 
for  the  growth  cf  crops.  No  doubt  there  are  conditions 
under  which  the  soil  may  be  benefited  by  an  application  of 
some  form  of  magnesia,  but  this  can  easily  be  given  indi- 
rectly with  the  potash  salts  or  with  lime.  It  forms  a  con- 
stituent of  nearly  all  commercial  fertilizers,  in  some  com- 
bination or  other. 

Phosphorus. — This  element  does  not  exist  in  a  free  or 
uncombined  state  in  nature,  this  being  impossible  because 
of  its  extreme  inflamm.ability.  It  is  a  soft,  colorless,  trans- 
lucent, wax-like  substance  which  takes  fire  on  the  slightest 
friction  and  burns  with  much  violence;  emitting  dense 
white  fumes  of  phosphoric  acid.  It  is  insoluble  in  water. 
It  was  discovered  by  Brandt  more  than  200  years  ago,  and 
because  of  its  intensely  inflammable  character,  was  much 
dreaded  by  the  uninformed  alchemists,  who  termed  it  "the  Son 
of  Satan."  It  exists  in  vegetable  and  animal  substance; 
being  a  constituent  of  albumen  and  fibrin,  and  of  the  ner- 


116  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Yous  substance.  It  is  a  far  more  abundant  element  in  organic 
nature  than  sulphur,  which  resembles  it  in  many  respects. 

Phosphoric  Acid,  is  the  form  in  which  this  element  is 
of  the  greatest  interest  to  farmers ;  because  of  the  universal 
and  most  important  relation  which  this  compound  bears  to 
vegetable  and  animal  life.  This  acid  is  exceedingly  sour ; 
is  readily  soluble  in  water,  and  is  corrcsive  to  vegetable  and 
animal  substances.  It  does  not  exist  in  a  free  state,  although 
it  is  frequently  mentioned  as  a  constituent  of  the  ash  of  all 
plants ;  but  is  always  found  in  combination ;  chiefly  with 
potash,  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia.  In  these  forms  it  is  uni- 
versally diffused  through  nature  and  it  is  in  these  combina- 
tions that  it  is  of  interest  in  the  study  of  its  relation  to  plant 
growth. 

Sulphur,  is  too  well  known  to  need  any  detailed  de- 
scription. It  is  only  of  interest  in  its  combined  form  as  sul- 
phuric acid  and  this  in  its  state  of  combination  with  other 
substances.  Alone,  this  acid  is  the  most  corrosive  substance 
known,  dissolving  or  decomposing  all  organic  and  many 
inorganic  substances.  When  in  combination  with  metals 
or  alkaline  substances  it  forms  sulphates.  These  exist 
abundantly  in  nature  and  some  of  them,  as  sulphates  of 
potash  and  lime  are  useful  to  vegetation,  while  others,  as  sul- 
phate of  iron  or  sulphate  of  alumina  are  hurtful. 

Silicon,  exists  only  artificially  as  a  dark  brown  powder 
prepared  w  ith  great  difficulty  by  a  tedious  chemical  process. 
In  its  oxide  as 

Silica,  it  is  one  of  the  most  abundant  substances,  form- 
ing the  larger  part  of  almost  all  minerals ;  being  almost  the 
sole  constituent  of  the  most  common  rocks  and  a  part  of  al- 
most every  one  of  others.  Its  character  is  that  of  an  acid, 
as  it  combines  with  alkalies,  and  forms  silicates,  as  silicate 
of  lime;  of  potash;  of  soda  &c.  It  exists  in  the  ash  of  all 
plants  without  exception,  and  quite  largely  in  many,  form- 
ing the  outer  coverings  of  the  stems  and  seeds;  thus  pro,- 
viding  support  for  the  plant,  and  protection  for  the  germ, 
or  vital  portion  of  the  seed.  These  silicates  are  soluble  in 
water  or  are  easily  decomposed  by  water  containing  some 


THE   SILICATES.  117 

caustic  alkali,  as  lime,  in  solution ;  and  tlie  silica  is  then 
made  available  as  food  for  plants. 

The  insoluble  silicates  of  potash,  lime,  soda  and  magnesia 
exist  in  many  mineral  substances.  The  transparent  glassy- 
mineral  known  as  mica,  and  often  wrongly  called  "isin- 
glass" and  which  is  used  for  the  windows  of  stoves,  is  a  sili- 
cate of  alumina  and  potash,  being  composed  of  46.3  per  cent, 
of  silica;  36.8  per  cent,  of  alumina;  9.2  per  cent,  of  potash, 
with  a  little  iron ;  the  very  common  mineral,  feldspar,  is 
another  silicate  of  alumina,  containing  16.95  per  cent,  of 
potash:  another  abundant  mineral,  prehnite,  contains  26 
per  cent,  of  lime  in  combination  with  silica  and  alumina ; 
other  similar  minerals  have  soda  instead  of  potash,  and  some 
have  magnesia  in  their  composition.  As  these  minerals 
which  form  vast  rocks,  and  mountain  masses,  are  slowly  de- 
composed by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  carbonic 
acid  contained  in  it  and  by  the  rains;  or  are  broken  up  by 
the  frosts  of  repeated  winters,  the  debris  is  carried  down 
and  borne  to  the  lower  grounds  and  forms  the  richest  soils. 
The  glistening  specks  of  mica  which  are  seen  so  abundantly 
in  the  soils  over  extensive  areas,  all  tell  the  story  of  inex- 
haustible stores  of  potash,  and  soda,  held  safely  until  the 
slow  action  of  the  weather,  the  effective  labors  of  the  farmer, 
and  the  chemical  agency  of  the  manures  and  fertilizers  he 
applies  to  the  soil,  unlock  them  from  the  close  embrace  of 
the  silica  and  release  them  to  become  aliment  for  the  crops, 
and  bring  comfort  and  wealth  to  mankind. 

These  silicates  are  a  subject  for  most  interesting  study, 
and  although  silica  is  rarely  considered  by  farmers  as  of  any 
Talue  to  them,  it  is  really  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
inorganic  elements.  But  it  exists  so  abundantly  in  nature, 
and  in  such  a  readily  available  form,  that  like  the  air  .and 
the  w^ater  which  come  to  us  unbidden,  this  really  precious 
plant  food  is  furnished  as  a  free  gift,  without  money  or  price 
and  is  lavished  mcst  abundantly  upon  us,  so  that  the  farmer 
is  in  no  way  concerned  in  regard  to  it. 

Chlokine,  is  a  gas  of  a  most  pungent  and  offensive  char- 
acter,; of  a  greenish  yellow  color ;  and  is  one  of  the  elements 


118  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

which,  combined,  form  hydro-chloric  acid  ;  commonly  called 
muriatic  acid.  This  element  fortunately  does  not  exist  in  a 
free  state  but  is  quite  abundant  in  combination ;  forming  60 
per  cent,  of  common  salt ;  (chloride  of  sodium).  It  is  easily 
produced  by  decomposing  salt  by  means  of  the  black  oxide 
of  manganese,  mixed  with  it,  and  placed  in  a  bottle  or  jar 
and  pouring  sulphuric  acid  upon  the  mixture.  The  chlo- 
rine is  separated  from  the  salt  and  is  given  off  in  the  form  of 
the  gas  described.  It  is  a  most  characteristic  element.  It 
extinguishes  fire ;  but  it  causes  phosphorus ;  gold  (in  the 
form  of  "leaf");  potassium;  sodium;  and  many  other  met- 
als, to  take  fire  when  immersed  in  it,  and  burn ;  combining 
with  them  and  forming  chlorides.  It  is  4 ^  times  heavier 
than  air,  and  may  be  poured  from  one  vessel  to  another. 
Animals  cannot  breathe  it,  and  when  unmixed  it  destroys 
all  living  vegetables.  Yet  its  solution  in  water  promotes- 
the  germination  of  seeds. 

It  exerts  a  strongly  destructive  effect  upon  organic  matter, 
and  hence  is  employed  as  a  disinfecting  agent,  to  decompose 
the  noxious  gases  which  emanate  from  putrid  vegetable  and 
animal  matter.  It  also  quickly  destroys  colors,  and  on  thia 
account  is  used  for  bleaching  cotton  goods.  It  is  extensive- 
ly distributed  in  nature  as  may  be  seen  by  its  universal  pres- 
ence in  the  ash  of  plants,  in  some  combined  form.  It  is  also 
present  in  all  the  secretions  and  other  fluids  of  animals,  and 
forms,  as  hydro-chloric  acid,  a  portion  of  the  gastric  fluid  of 
the  stomach.  This  acid  is  composed  of  chlorine  and  hy- 
drogen. 

We  have  thus  enumerated  and  described,  as  far  as  may 
be  useful,  the  inorganic  elements  of  plants,  and  those  parts 
of  thefta  which  are  derived  from  the  soil.  The  nature  of  the 
soil  itself  next  claims  our  careful  consideration. 


THE  SOIL. 


CHAPTER    XVIII  . 

THE  SOIL.— ITS  ORIGIN  AND  FORMATION. 

A  study  of  the  principles  of  geology  will  be  found  very 
useful  and  instructive  to  the  farmer,  for  they  explain  how 
the  soil  which  he  prepares  for  his  crops,  and  from  which  the 
subsistence  of  man  is  procured  was  formed ;  from  what  ma- 
terials it  was  derived;  and  how  it  came  to  be  available  for 
his  purposes. 

The  earth  was  once  "without  form  and  void  and  water 
covered  the  great  deep."  This  is  the  testimony  of  inspira- 
tion as  given  in  the  Scriptures  and  it  is  the  testimony  given 
by  the  rocks  themselves.  Everything  in  relation  to  the 
rocks  and  the  soil  which  has  been  derived  from  them,  prove 
the  combined  agency  of  great  heat  and  of  water,  in  their 
construction.  The  solid  earth  is  composed  in  greater  part 
of  a  few  elements  only ;  the  larger  part  of  the  64  which  are 
known  to  exist,  are  found  only  in  small  quantities ;  and 
when  we  enumerate  the  8  inorganic  substances  already  men- 
tioned as  contributing  the  mineral  elements  of  vegetation 
and  add  to  them  the  single  one  alumina  which  is  chiefly 
represented  by  clay,  we  have  all  the  elements  which  make 
up  the  vast  bulk  of  the  globe  and  form  the  soil  which  cov- 
ers its  surface. 

The  solid  rocks  which  form  what  we  call  the  crust  of  the 
earth  are  of  two  kinds,  viz :  those  which  give  evidence  of 
having  been  erupted  from  a  molten  mass  and  of  having  been 
cooled  into  a  solid  state,  and  those  which  give  evidence  of 
having  been  deposited  by  the  agency  of  water.  It  may  per- 
haps best  explain  our  subject  by  giving  a  short  history  of 
what  is  believed  to  have  been  the  manner  in  which  the  earth 
was  brought  into  its  present  condition. 

The  condensation  of  the  gaseous  materials  of  which  the 
earth  is  composed,  at  its  original  formation,  produced  a  heat 


120  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

incomprehensible  to  our  minds  in  its  intensity,  and  of  which 
we  have  an  example  in  the  present  condition  of  the  sun. 
In  course  of  ages  the  gases  became  condensed  to  fluids  and 
by  a  gradual  process  of  cooling  the  various  elements  became 
plastic  and  more  adherent ;  separating  from  each  other  by 
molecular  attraction  and  forming  layers  or  masses,  which 
formed  a  crust  around  the  central  portion,  still  fluid  from 
the  retained  heat. 

At  this  period  of  the  earth's  history  it  was  surrounded  by 
a  dense  atmosphere  of  steam ;  produced  by  the  vaporization 
of  the  water  by  the  heat.  Upon  still  further  gradual  cool- 
ing the  watery  vapor  became  condensed,  in  part ;  and  the 
heated  masses  of  plastic  rock  were  enveloped  in  an  ocean  of 
boiling  water,  above  which  floated  the  dense  volumes  of 
steam.  Here  was  indeed  chaos,  and  the  darkness  which 
covered  the  waters  and  the  earth.  As  the  cooled  crust 
hardened,  it  shrank,  and  as  the  pressure  of  the  molten  mass 
within  it  burst  the  thin  shell,  it  was  vomited  forth  into  the 
ocean,  causing  explosions  and  outbursts  of  steam,  which  as- 
cending, became  cooled  and  fell  in  tremendous  torrents  of 
rain,  into  the  ocean.  A  seething,  boiling,  tumultuous  ocean, 
thus  enveloped  the  globe;  while  vast  eruptions  from 
beneath  it  forced  mountain  masses  of  plastic  rock  far  above 
ita  surface,  and  these  were  washed  wdth  the  descending  rain 
torrents.  The  soft  rock  was  thus  broken  down  into  mud 
which  flowed  into  the  depressions,  forming  vast  beds  at  first 
horizontally  spread  out.  All  this  went  on  during  vast  ages ; 
a  period  of  terrible  commotion  and  chaotic  disturbance. 
As  the  gradual  cooling  proceeded,  the  disturbances  became 
less  frequent.  At  times  the  pressure  from  below  the  hard- 
ened crust  lifted  this  slowly,  breaking  it  into  fissures  and 
throwing  up  the  rocks  upon  their  edges,  or  into  vast  waves. 
These  waves  of  rock  were  sometimes  burst  at  their  summit, 
when  melted  matter  flowed  over  them  and  filled  the  depres- 
sions between  them ;  or  one  side  of  the  broken  crust  would 
fall  back  to  a  lower  level  leaving  a  precipitous  wall  of  rock 
on  the  other  side.  The  ocean  beating  upon  these  heated 
rocks,  quickly  wore  them  down  into  mud  or  sand;  and 


THE   FORMATION   OF    THE  SOIL.  121 

these  spreading  out  under  the  great  depths  were  soon  pressed 
and  hardened  into  the  slates  or  the  sandstones  which  Ave 
know  so  well.  The  hot  water  holding  silica  in  (Solution  gave 
up  its  burden  as  it  cooled,  and  gradually  added  it  to  these 
l)eds  furnishing  the  cement  which  bound  them  into  a  firm 
mass;  or  it  filled  the  fissures  and  formed  the  quartz  beds  and 
Teins  so  prominent  among  the  existing  mountain  masses. 

Then  came  long  periods  of  rest.  The  ocean  cooled  and  ' 
no  longer  gave  forth  the  vast  clouds  of  steam  which  hid  the 
sun.  Then  came  the  light,  and  the  day  and  night.  The 
dry  land  was  formed  by  the  lifting  up  of  the  earth's  crust 
along  continuous  lines ;  the  rocks  being  broken  and  tilted 
on  their  edges,  and  higher  in  places  than  in  others,  formed 
lines  of  islands  through  the  enveloping  ocean.  Thus  were 
formed  the  great  chain  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  the 
lesser  chain  of  the  Blue  ridge  and  Appalachians  which  stretch 
from  Georgia  to  the  north  into  lower  Canada,  and  of  which 
the  White  mountains  and  the  Adirondacks  are  a  part.  A 
^reat  broad  valley  was  formed  between  these  mountain 
chains,  and  a  gradual  slope  on  either  side  down  to  the 
•depths  of  the  ocean.  By  gradual  shrinking  of  the  still  cool- 
ing crust,  the  mountain  chains  were  lifted  up  and  great  de- 
pressions were  formed  into  which  the  ocean  withdrew,  leav- 
ing broad  continents  stretching  from  the  south  to  the  north 
poles.  All  these  changes  of  course  were  accompanied  by 
vast  floods  which  washed  the  loose  materials  into  depres- 
sions and  formed  layers  of  gravel,  sand,  clay  and  earth,  much 
as  we  find  them  to-day  when  we  excavate  the  banks  of  earth 
on  the  hill  sides. 

Then  came  the  ice  period.  Everywhere  over  half  the 
•earth's  surface  were  vast  beds  of  ice.  These  spread  from 
the  mountain  tops  down  their  sloping  sides  to  the  valleys. 
As  the  lower  portions  melted,  the  pressure  of  the  enormous 
masses  above,  forced  these  beds  of  ice  downwards,  slowly 
but  continuously ;  as  the  glaciers  of  the  present  age  move 
down  the  mountain  sides.  The  tremendous  pressure  ground 
doM'n  the  rocks  into  powder;  wearing  away  thousands  of 
feet  from  the  top,  cutting  off  the  crests  of  huge  bends  and 


122  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

waves :  and  as  the  ice  melted  under  the  heat  of  the  pressure 
and  friction,  great  floods  emerged  from  under  the  glaciers- 
and  carried  the  broken  down  rock,  sand,  and  mud,  with  them,, 
and  spread  them  in  the  valleys ;  forming  broad  shallow  lakes- 
which  eventually  dried  up  and  left  wide  areas  of  soil. 

Thus  were  formed  the  broad  plains  and  prairies;  the 
gently  swelling  vales  and  the  broad  valleys ;  and  the  hills 
and  mountains  were  left  to  give  birth  to  the  rivers  which 
cut  their  ways  through  the  soil,  on  their  passage  to  the 
source  from  which  the  all  powerful  beams  of  the  sun  first 
drew  them. 

Then  came  the  first  plant ;  a  humble  moss  or  lichen,  cov- 
ering the  soil  in  the  first  ages  of  vegetation,  and  gradually 
gathering  from  the  atmosphere  the  carbon,  nitrogen,  oxy- 
gen, and  hydrogen;  and  the  various  inorganic  elements  which 
have  been  described;  furnished  by  their  death  and  decay 
the  sources  from  which  future  ages  of  life  might  spring. 
And  by  the  gradual  accumulation  of  stores  of  carbon  and 
nitrogen  in  the  soil,  a  better  and  richer  vegetation  was 
evolved,  until  the  time  came  when  the  sweetly  odorous 
flowers;  the  verdant  meadows;  the  glorious  forests;  the 
teeming  fruits  and  the  nutritious  grains  covering  the  prolific 
soil;  made  a  fit  home  for  man;  and  the  earth  was  given  to 
him  for  his  eternal  heritage  and  dominion. 

Thus  was  the  soil  formed  and  man  became  a  tiller  of  the 
ground. 


THE  ROCKS  THE  ORIGIN   OF  SOILS. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE  ROCKS.— THEIR  COMPOSITION  AND  INFLUENCE 
UPON  THE  SOIL. 

Bocks  are  divided  by  geologists  into  two  great  classes ; 
one  termed  primary ;  igneous ;  or  unstratified ;  such  as  gran- 
ite; quartz,  &c:  the  other,  secondary;  stratified;  or  sedi- 
mentary; as  sandstones  slates  &c.;  by  which  is  meant  that 
the  latter  has  been  formed  from  the  debris  of  the  former  as 
has  been  explained  in  the  previous  chapter.  One  other 
class  is  termed,  generally,  the  tertiary  or  third  formation ; 
and  this  consists,  of  the  water  worn  pebbles;  gravels ;  marl 
beds ;  clays  and  sandstones  which  have  been  formed  by  the 
later  changes  on  the  earth's  surface  and  since  animals  of 
the  kinds  which  now  exist  appeared  on  the  globe.  For  this 
class  of  rocks  are  distinguished  by  the  frequency  of  animal 
remains  in  them,  which  are  similar  to  or  identical  with 
species  which  now  exist. 

These  three  classes  are  divided  into  various  sub-classes 
called  systems  and  these  again  into  formations;  each  of 
these  having  some  common  resemblance,  which  shows  that 
they  were  deposited  under  nearly  the  same  general  physi- 
cal conditions  of  the  earth's  surface.  Thus  there  is  the  car- 
boniferous system,  consisting  of  a  series  of  limestones;  sand- 
stones ;  iron  stones;  and  beds  of  coal ;  which  contain  animal 
and  vegetable  remains  of  the  same  species,  and  are  thus- 
shown  to  have  been  formed  at  one  special  era  of  the  earth's 
history.  From  the  characteristics  and  formation  and  order  of 
deposition  of  these  beds,  the  geologist  or  an  attentive  intelli- 
gent student,  can  form  as  clear  an  idea  of  what  occurred 
during  the  age  in  which  these  plants  grew  and  these  ani- 
mals lived,  and  these  rocks  were  deposited  and  formed,  as 
if  he  had  the  open  volume  before  him  in  which  he  might 
.  read  the  history.     This  is  a  study  of  the  most  intense  inter^ 


124  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

est  to  the  farmer,  who  plows  the  soil  and  reaps  his  crops 
from  the  land  made  rich  by  the  remains  of  past  ages  of  veg- 
etable and  animal  life;  and  the  history  of  which  is  recalled 
as  he  turns  up  in  his  fields  the  fossil  or  stony  remains  cf  creat- 
ures which  existed,  we  know  not  how  many  ages  ago. 

The  composition  of  the  various  rocks  is  of  great  interest 
to  the  student,  because,  as  the  soil  is  formed  from  the  rocks, 
and  its  character  is  recognized  by  fragments  of  the  prevail- 
ing rocks  of  which  it  is  made  up,  the  nature  of  the  soil  is 
necessarily  similar  to  that  of  the  rocks  of  which  it  consists. 
This  knowledge  of  the  rocks  is  indispensable  to  farmers,  for 
without  it  they  cannot  know  what  they  should  of  their  soils, 
and  the  adaptability  of  these  to  the  crops  which  they  grow. 
For  there  are  wheat  lands ;  corn  lands;  grass  lands;  soils 
for  fruit ;  for  the  vine ;  for  the  dairy ;  for  sheep ;  and  for 
other  special  crops  as  hops,  tobacco,  &c.,  and  a  right  choice . 
of  land  for  a  special  purpose  is  indispensable  to  successful 
agriculture. 

Granite  is  the  foundation  rock  of  the  globe.  It  is  the 
basis  of  the  oldest  mountain  ranges  whose  granite  peaks, 
bare  and  rugged,  point  their  pinnacles  to  the  noon-day  sun 
and  defy  the  foot  'of  man  to  reach  them.  This  rock  is  of 
great  importance  in  the  formation  of  the  soil ;  for  it  contains 
the  most  indispensable  elements  for  vegetable  growth ;  viz : 
silica;  potash,  alumina  and  soda;  and  in  veins  which  are 
contained  in  it,  lime;  magnesia;  phosphoric  acid;  sulphur 
and  chlorine  are  found.  Thus  from  this  one  rock  and  its 
accompanying  minerals  may  be  furnished  to  the  soil,  every 
inorganic  element  needed  for  the  successful  growth  of  crops. 
It  is  made  up  of  crystals  of  quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica,  ce- 
mented together  most  compactly  and  making  a  rock  of  ex- 
treme hardness.  The  quartz  is  the  clear, '  glassy,  white, 
mineral ;  which  makes  up  the  larger  portion  of  the  ordinary 
sand ;  the  feldspar  is  a  flesh  colored,  or  white,  milky  col- 
ored substance,  softer  than  the  quartz,  and  is  usually  in  the 
form  of  square  or  rhomboidal  crystals ;  the  mica  is  in  white 
yellow  or  black  scales. 

There  are  no  richer  soils  than  those  derived  from  granite. 


FERTILITY   OF   GRANITE   SOILS.  125 

the  component  parts  of  which  contribute  every  necessary 
element  for  abundant  and  vigorous  vegetable  growth;  while 
the  large  proportion  of  silica  existing  in  them,  with  the 
alumina  and  magnesia,  give  them  a  loose  open  texture  which 
makes  them  easy  of  cultivation  and  permeable  to  water. 
These  soils  produce  wheat  and  all  the  grains,  grasses,  fodder 
crops,  and  fruit,  to  perfection.  They  may  be  readily  dis- 
tinguished by  the  glistening  of  the  small  bright  particles  of 
mica  which  glitter  in  the  sunlight,  and  by  their  loose  open 
mellow^  texture.  They  bear  a  forest  growth  of  oak,  hick- 
ory, elm,  basswood  and  white  pines  of  the  largest  dimen- 
sions and  finest  quality;  and  having  a  deep  surface  soil  with 
an  open  subsoil  rarely  require  artificial  drainage. 

The  principal  constituents  of  the  feldspar  of  which  these 
soils  largely  consist  are  silica,  alumina,  potash,  and  soda ; 
the  soda  feldspar  is  called  albite;  the  potash  feldspar  is 
called  orthoclase.  These  minerals  have  the  following  com- 
position. 

Orthoclase.  Albite. 

Silica 65.21  69.09 

Alumina 18.13  19.22 

Potash 16.66  .  

Soda 11.69 

100.00  100.00 

The  mica  contained  in  the  granite  has  a  varied  composi- 
tion, one  kind  containing  magnesia  in  considerable  proper-* 
tion.     The  following  are  analyses  of  these  two  kinds: 

Potash  Mica.  Magnesia  Mica. 

SUica 46.10  40.00 

Alumina 31.60  12.67 

Oxide  of  iron 8.65  19.03 

Potash 8.39  5.61 

Magnesia 1.40  16.33 

Fluoric  acid 1.12  2.10 

Water 1.00  

Titanic  acid 1.63 

98.26  97.37 

When  the  granite  contains  hornblende  in  place  of  mica 
it  is  called  Syenite.  Hornblende  is  a  black  glassy  mineral, 
very  tough  and  hard;  and  contains  the  following  substances.. 


126  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Basalt  Hornblende.       Syenite  Hornblende. 

Silica 42.24  45.69 

Alumina 13.92  12.18 

Lime 12.24  13.83 

Magnesia 13.74  18,79 

Oxide  of  iron 14.59  7.32 

Oxide  of  Manganese 0.33  0.22 

Fluoric  acid 1.50 

97.06  99.53 

,  This  variety  of  granite  is  distinguished  by  the  absence  of 
potash  and  the  presence  of  lime  in  notable  quantity. 

Granite  also  contains  a  number  of  other  minerals  in  veins, 
or  scattered  through  the  mass.  Among  the  most  important 
•of  these  are  apatite  or  phosphate  of  lime ;  marble  or  crys- 
tallized carbonate  of  lime ;  tourmaline ;  epidote  and  cryso- 
lite.  These  furnish  to  the  soil  the  phosphoric  acid,  which 
is  indispensable  for  vegetable  life  and  growth,  and  contrib- 
ute lime,  magnesia,  potash  and  soda  as  well.  Where  these 
minerals  abound,  the  soil  is  fertile  and  bears  abundant  crops. 
The  greater  parts  of  New  England ;  northern  New  York ; 
eastern  Canada;  Pennsylvania,  parts  of  New  Jersey,  West 
Virginia  and  southward  along  the  mountains  and  eastward 
to  their  feet,  are  covered  with  soil  produced  by  the  decom- 
position of  this  class  of  rocks  and  prove  by  the  high  culture 
and  value  of  the  soil,  how  well  it  is  furnished  with  the  ele- 
ments of  plant  food. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  all  the  other  rocks  of  this  class; 
ivhich  consist  of  similar  minerals  varying  more  or  less  in 
proportion.  This  variation  naturally  has  an  effect  upon 
the  character  of  the  soils  derived  from  these  rocks.  For 
when  phosphoric  acid  is  deficient,  no  surplus  of  other  ele- 
ments will  make  up  a  fertile  soil ;  and  when  the  lime  or 
potash  has  been  washed  from  the  soil  on  the  higher  lands 
into  the  valleys,  the  sandy  land  which  remains  has  no  good 
quality  to  attract  the  husbandman. 

The  most  fertile  soils  are  those  derived  from  the  decom- 
position of  limestone  rocks.  When  the  traveller  across  the 
continent  passes  the  Appalachian  mountains,  he  enters  the 
grand  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers,  and 
traverses  a  vast  region  of  the  utmost  fertility,  renowned  as 


VALUE    OF    LIMESTONE    LANDS.  127 

ihe  granary  of  the  world  and  surpassingly  rich  in  cattle. 
The  blue  grass  region  of  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Ohio  and 
Iowa ;  the  inexhaustible  bottoms  of  the  Ohio'  rivers ;  the 
"loess"  soils  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas  and  the  rich  prairies 
and  forests  of  the  north  western  states,  are  all  underlaid  with 
limestone  rocks  and  covered  with  a  limestone  soil  of  unsur- 
passed fertility.  These  lands  have  made  the  United  States 
the  richest  and  most  powerful  nation  of  the  world ;  for  they 
have  attracted  the  many  millions  of  industrious  enterprising 
immigrants  which  have  covered  these  lands  with  fertile 
farms,  the  produce  of  which  has  given  employment  to  the 
great  railroads  and  fleets  of  steamships  which  carry  abroad 
millions  of  tons  of  grain  and  provisions  and  bring  back  more 
of  the  wealth  of  muscle  and  brain,  which  makes  up  the 
strength  and  power  of  this  great  nation.  The  following  ta- 
ble exhibits  the  character  of  the  soils  referred  to. 

12  3 

From  Kentucky  From  the  IVom 

blue  grass  region.  Ohio  vaUey.  Nebraska. 

Silica  and  fine  sand 76.20  85.14  80.51 

Alumina 8.51  5.66  6.81 

Oxide  of  iron 2.59  1.22  0.31 

Lime 3.92  1.56  4.40 

Magnesia 1.68  .'31  1.16 

Potash 1.14  .48  2.13 

Soda 0.64  .02  .21 

Phosphoric  acid 1.65  1.60  1.22 

Gypsum .01  .02  .09 

Chlorine 01  .03  .03 

Carbonic  acid .08  

Organic  matter 2.62  3.38  2.44 

99.97  99.50  99.31 

Every  element  required  for  the  abundant  growth  of  crops 
is  here  represented  in  such  proportion  as  will  ensure  lasting 
fertility  under  judicious  management.  Everywhere  that 
limestone  prevails  fruit  is  unusually  excellent;  grass  grows 
with  profusion ;  and  sheep  cattle  and  horses  are  unexcelled. 
The  cattle,  horses,  and  the  pastures  of  Kentucky  furnish 
types  of  the  fertility  of  the  limestone  soils. 

The  so  called  drift  soils  are  those  made  up  of  materials 
transported  from  a  distance  by  the  floods  and  ice  beds,  of 
the  later  periods  of  the  geological  ages.      These   soils   are 


128  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

marked  by  the  utmost  diversity  and  irregularity  of  charac- 
ter, as  may  well  be  supposed  from  their  origin.  Beds  ot 
gravel  or  of  sand;  interspersed  with  patches  of  coarse 
boulders,  or  of  mixed  soil  covered  with  the  hard  heads, 
which  can  scarcely  be  broken,  overlie  hard  pan  of  gravel 
packed  so  firmly  as  to  resist  the  passage  of  water,  and  these 
alternate  so  frequently  that  at  times  a  10  acre  field  has  sev- 
eral kinds  of  soil  in  it.  The  action  of  the  drift  and  of  the 
ice,  which  has  been  explained,  necessarily  produces  such  a 
condition  of  soil,  which  is  the  effect  of  the  currents  and  ed- 
dies made  by  the  varying  circumstances  of  the  continually 
changing  flow  of  water.  Thus  the  drift  soils  are  mostly  of 
inferior  character  and  offer  few  advantages  for  the  farmer, 
who  should  scrutinize  closely,  when  he  is  in  search  of  a  farm, 
the  soil  which  he  expects  to  cultivate. 

Another  inferior  class  of  soils  is  derived  from  sandstones, 
which  consist  mostly  of  quartz  cemented  together  w^ith  si- 
licious  matter.  These  soils  are  exceedingly  light  and  po- 
rous, and  while  they  are  easily  cultivated,  their  porosity  is  a 
serious  disadvantage,  and  with  the  absence  of  the  more  val- 
uable minerals  required  to  form  a  fertile  soil,  render  them 
undesirable  for  general  farming.  These  soils  are  excellent 
for  gardening,  and  when  underlaid  with  clay  which  is  in 
reach  of  the  plow,  they  produce  the  finest  quality  of  wheat 
and  corn,  but  are  not  suitable  for  grass.  In  general  a  far- 
mer should  reject  land  of  this  character  unless  there  are 
some  special  circumstances  which  go  to  mitigate  the  unde- 
sirable character  of  it. 

One  other  class  of  soils  remains  to  be  mentioned  viz.  the 
alluvial  "bottom  lands"  so  called  because  they  occupy  the 
low  level  grounds  on  the  borders  of  rivers,  and  have  been 
formed  by  deposits  brought  down  from  higher  lands  by  pe- 
riodical floods.  These  lands  are  generally  of  the  richest 
character,  formed  as  they  have  been  of  the  surface  soil  df 
the  higher  lands  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  which  has 
been  washed  down  by  the  rains.  The  soil  thus  formed  is 
exceedingly  rich  in  organic  matter  and  potash,  and  indeed 
in  all  the  soluble  compounds  of  both  organic  and  inorganic 


ROCKS  A  GUIDE  TO  THE  QUALITY  OF  THE  SOIL.  129 

elements,  and  are  practically  inexhaustible  of  fertility. 
Some  of  them  have  been  under  cultivation  for  100  years, 
and  under  ordinary  fair  treatment  and  a  judicious  rotation 
of  crops  are  now  yielding  as  much  as  when  first  cleared  of 
the  original  forest  more  than  100  years  ago. 

The  practical  conclusions  to  be  derived  from  the  preced- 
ing considerations  may  be  summed  up  as  follows.  ^ 

First — Soils  arc  derived  either  wholly  or  in  part  from  the 
rocks  upon  which  they  rest ;  and  when  the  soil  is  made  uj)  of 
accumulations  of  drifted  materials  brought  from  a  distance, 
these  are  more  or  less  mixed  with  materials  derived  from 
the  rocks  upon  which  they  lie. 

Second. — That  the  condition  of  the  rocky  materials  of  the' 
soil  may  be  made  a  guide  as  to  the  relation  of  the  soil  to' 
the  underlying  rocks :  for  when  these  fragments  are  sharp 
and  angular,  it  proves  that  they  have  been  derived  from 
adjacent  sources  and  have  not  been  transported  any  great 
distance ;  while  the  roundness  and  smoothness  of  the  drift 
indicate  the  more  or  less  distant  sources  from  which  they 
have  been  brought. 

Third. — A  knowledge  of  the  composition  of  the  rocks 
from  which  any  soil  has  been  derived,  enables  the  farmer 
to  form  an  accurate  judgment  of  the  quality  and  general 
nature  of  the  soil  and  becomes  a  safe  guide  to  him  as  to  the 
details  of  its  culture  and  management. 

Fourth. — That  as  a  result  of  the  foregoing  a  study  of  the 
outlines,  at  least,  of  the  science  of  geology  is  of  great  import- 
ance to  the  farmer  and  will  be  a  most  useful  aid  in  the  in- 
telligent and  successful  culture  of  farm  crops. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XX. 
^        THE  PHYSICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  SOILS. 

While  the  later  and  more  accurate  knowledge  regarding 
the  relation  of  soils  to  the  growth  of  crops,  has  rendered 
obsolete  many  of  the  former  views  and  opinions  held  by 
agricultural  students  in  respect  of  the  importance  of  this  re- 
lation, yet  the  practical  farmer  will  easily  recognize  the 
fact  that  the  physical  conditions  of  the  soil ;  that  is,  its  den- 
sity ;  the  fineness  of  its  particles ;  its  firmness  and  adhesive 
power;  its  capacity  for  imbibing  and  retaining  moisture; 
its  color ;  the  amount  of  contraction  upon  drying ;  its  po- 
rosity and  consequent  power  of  admitting  air,  and  gaseous 
substances  with  it :  that  all  these  are  of  primary  importance 
to  its  successful  culture  and  worthy  of  careful  consideration 
and  study. 

Some  soils  are  much  heavier  than  others ;  not  only  in 
reference  to  the  ordinary  sense  in  which  the  terms  "heavy"  and 
"light"  are  used  to  denote  clay  or  sandy  soils;  but  as  re- 
gards the  absolute  specific  gravity  and  the  weight  of  equal 
bulks.     Thus  a  cubic  foot  of 

Dry  sandy  or  limestone  soil  weighs 110  lbs. 

Clay  loam,  half  sand 95    " 

Heavy  sandy  loam 80  to  90   " 

Pure  clay 75    '• 

Rich  garden  mold 70   '• 

Peaty  soil  from  swamps 30  to  50   " 

Sandy  soil,  largely  made  up  of  quartz  is  the  heaviest  and 
the  weight  of  soil  is  less  as  the  proportion  of  clay  and  veg- 
etable matter  increases.  This  quality  of  the  soil  is  not 
without  practical  importance:  for  the  heavier  a  soil  is  the 
less  it  is  compressed  or  packed  by  the  passage  of  loads  or  of 
cattle  over  it ;  the  less  it  is  washed  by  heavy  rains ;  and  ac- 
cording to  a  number  of  experiments  made  in  Germany  it 
has  been  shown  that  the  denser  and  heavier  the  soils,  the 


USES    OF   STONE    IN   THE   SOIL.  131 

longer  the  sun's  heat  is  retained  after  night  fall,  or  after  a 
change  in  the  weather.  The  exemption  from  feosts  of  light 
sanely  lands  while  peaty  soils  are  more  subject  to  them  is 
another  result  of  this  quality. 

The  state  of  division  of  the  particles  of  a  soil  is  intimately 
connected  with  its  density  and  weight.  The  exceedingly 
fine  particles  of  which  the  "loess"  soils  of  Nebraska  and  of 
the  Mississippi  bottoms  consist,  and  the  coarser  nature  of 
the  gravelly  lands  of  New  England,  certainly  have  much  to 
do  with  their  productive  character  and  money  value,  because 
these  are  controlled  by  ease  of  working  and  facility  of  man- 
agement, quite  as  much  as  by  their  fertility ;  and  this  prop- 
erty is  not  to  be  lightly  passed  over  or  ignored,  in  this  con- 
sideration. Sopie  considerable  quantity  of  stone  is  not 
considered  by  many  farmers  as  injurious  or  even  objection- 
able ;  for  when  the  stone  is  not  large  enough  to  interfere 
with  the  employment  of  the  implements,  the  plow,  harrow, 
drill,  and  mower  and  reaper,  it  is  really  a  benefit,  for  it 
warms  the  land  in  the  winter  and  cools  it  in  the  summer, 
condensing  moisture  around  it  in  the  latter  case  and  so  aid- 
ing considerably  in  the  growth  of  the  crops.  The  frag- 
ments of  certain  kinds  of  rocks,  especially  the  fossiliferous 
slates  and  limestones,  are  quickly  worn  down  by  the  Aveath- 
er  and  contribute  to  a  useful  extent  to  the  mineral  plant 
food  of  the  soil ;  so  that  there  are  cases  in  which  a  moderate 
quantity  of  loose  stone  in  the  soil  is  a  benefit  rather  than 
an  incumbrance,  in  more  ways  than  one.  This  is  the  case  in 
western  New  York  where  the  fossiliferous  limestone  prevails 
and  in  eastern  Pennsylvania  and  southward  along  the  moun- 
tains, where  the  micaceous  schists  and  slates  and  the  mag- 
nesian  talcose  rocks  abound ;  and  in  their  gradual  wearing 
down  furnish  new  supplies  of  plant  food  to  the  land. 

When  soils  cohere  and  become  hard  and  cloddy,  or,  bake 
into  a  hard  crust  on  the  surface  after  rain,  this  is  objection- 
able ;  as  compelling  the  farmer  to  spend  a  good  deal  of  la- 
bor in  reducing  the  clods  and  pulverizing  the  surface  by 
frequent  cultivation.  Sandy  loams  and  light  clay  loams 
have  not  this  objectionable  coherence;  while  stiff  clays  are 


132  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROP8. 

especially  subject  to  it,  and  are  consequently  difficult  to 
work  and  at  times  the  crops  suffer  on  such  soils.  Then 
thorough  drainage,  or  the  admixture  of  a  large  quantity  of 
sand  or  vegetable  matter  or  lime,  or  all  of  them  are  needed 
to  secure  the  largest  possible  crops.  In  the  end  these  meth- 
ods will  bring  the  stiffest  clay  soil  to  a  condition  in  which 
it  may  be  worked  to  advantage,  but  the  cost  of  all  this  is  to 
be  taken  into  account  when  a  farm  is  examined  with  a  view 
to  its  purchase,  or  when  methods  are  required  to  bring  it  to 
a  condition  of  suitable  pulverization.  In  this  case  the  far- 
mer will  do  well  to  study  the  character  of  the  implements 
he  employs  very  cai*iefully,  and  choose  those  which  are  the 
most  effective  for  this  purpose,  so  that  the  land  may  be  most 
perfectly  and  economically  worked. 

Some  soils  are  extremely  adhesive  and  clog  the  imple- 
ments even  when  made  of  the  best,  the  hardest,  and  the 
smoothest  metal.  All  soils  are  more  resistant  to  the  plow 
when  wet,  than  when  dry,  and  also  to  an  iron  than  to  a 
chilled  or  steel  plow.  While  the  resistance  of  a  sandy  soil 
when  wet,  is  equal  to  4  lbs.  to  the  square  foot  of  the  surface 
which  passes  through  it,  a  fertile  vegetable  soil  or  a  rich 
loam,  exerts  a  resisting  force  of  about  6  lbs.  and  clay 
soils  from  8  to  25  lbs.  to  the  square  foot.  These  differences 
will  certainly  form  considerable  items  in  the  calculation  of 
a  farmer  who  is  estimating  the  cost  of  working,  or  the  ef- 
fectiveness of  it,  and  the  consequent  value  that  may  be  put 
on  the  land. 

The  capacity  for  absorbing  and  holding  water  is  of  para- 
mount importance  to  the  soil,  for  the  ability  to  produce  crops 
depends  greatly  upon  this  quality.  Soils  vary  greatly  in 
this  respect ;  as  will  be  shown  in  the  following  instances. 
When  a  sample  of  soil  is  dried  thoroughly  in  a  moderately 
cool  oven,  or  on  a  plate  placed  over  boiling  water,  and  is 
then  spread  out  on  paper  in  the  open  air,  it  will  take  up 
watery  vapor  from  the  atmosphere,  and  will  thus  increase 
in  weight.  The  capacity  of  the  soil  in  this  respect  may  be 
easily  tested  by  weighing  accurately  100  ounces  of  soil  dried 
for  24  hours  in  the  manner  above  described.    Kich  garden 


ABSORBENT   POWER   OF   SOILS.  133 

loam  thus  treated  will  absorb  about  2  per  cent,  of  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere  in  a  night  of  12  hours,  f  n  dry  sea- 
sons this  quality  of  the  soil  is  very  useful  in  restoring  the 
moisture  which  was  lost  during  the  day  and  that  which  has 
been  exhaled  by  the  plants — and  this  is  usually  more  than 
is  lost  directly  by  evaporation  from  the  soil. 

Different  soils  possess  this  property  in  very  unequal  de- 
grees.    Thus  it  has  been  found  that  1000  lbs.  of 

Quartz  sand  will  gain nothing. 

Limestone  sand  gains 2  pounds. 

Sandy  loam  soil  gains 21       •' 

Clay  loam  soil  gains 25       " 

Pure  clay  gains 27       " 

Peat  gains 80       ** 

This  last  figure  should  not  be  passed  by  without  calling 
attention  to  the  value  in  this  respect  of  a  large  admixture 
of  decayed  peat  or  swamp  muck  to  all  kinds  of  soil.  The 
author  has  found  that  the  addition  of  100  loads  of  swamp 
muck,  well  composted  with  quick  lime,  per  acre,  spread  up- 
on very  light  sandy  soil,  saved  a  crop  of  corn  from  injury 
during  a  very  dry  season,  in  which  the  corn  upon  adjacent 
land  not  so  treated,  curled  and  wilted  and  made  no  more 
than  half  an  ordinary  yield  of  ears  and  fodder.  The  corn 
dressed  with  the  compost  remained  dark  green  in  color; 
and  never  curled  on  the  hottest  days,  while  the  adjoining 
rows  of  corn  were  dry  and  yellow.  The  most  fertile  soils 
possess  this  property  to  the  largest  extent,  hence  the  farmer 
who  cultivates  his  soil  and  treats  it  in  the  most  liberal  man- 
ner secures  the  highest  recompense  for  his  labor. 

Soils  also  vary  in  their  capacity  to  retain  water.  If  wat- 
er be  poured  drop  by  drop  upon  a  piece  of  dry  clay  the  in- 
terstices of  the  hard  clod  will  be  gradually  filled  with  water 
and  then  will  hold  no  more.  At  length  the  drops  will  fall 
from  the  bottom  of  it  rs  they  fall  on  to  the  top  of  it.  All 
sorts  of  soil  possess  this  property  to  some  extent.  The  rains 
fall  and  are  quickly  drank  in  by  the  pores  or  interstices  of 
the  soil  and  are  there  firmly  held  until  the  water  is  driven 
off  by  long  continued  heat  and  exposure  to  hot  dry  air. 
But  after  long  continued  rains  the  soil  is  saturated  and  the 


134  THE  CULTURE  OF  FAKM  CROPS. 

overplus  either  runs  off  from  the  surface  or  sinks  into  the 
subsoil  or  escapes  through  the  drains.  In  drained  land  this 
power  of  retaining  or  holding  water  in  the  largest  quantity- 
is  of  the  highest  advantage,  for,  while  the  injurious  excess 
is  carried  off  and  removed  a  large  supply  remains  for  the 
sustenance  of  the  crops.  The  difference  between  soils  in  this 
respect  is  quite  large.  Thus  100  lbs.  of  the  following  named 
soils  will  begin  to  part  with  water,  if  it  be 

A  pure  sand  when  it  has  absorbed 25  pounds. 

A  limestone  sand  when  it  has  absorbed 29  " 

A  sandy  loam  soil  when  it  has  absorbed 40  " 

A  limestone  clay  loam  Avhen  it  has  absorbed...  45  " 

A  pure  clay  loam  when  it  has  absorbed 50  " 

A  pure  clay  when  it  has  absorbed 70  " 

A  dry  peat  when  it  has  absorbed 180  " 

The  best  arable  soils  are  therefore  able  to  hold  within 
their  interstices  from  40  to  70  per  cent,  of  their  weight  of 
water;  while  the  best  grass  lands  will  easily  hold  even 
more  than  their  own  weight.  As  grass  thrives  all  the 
better,  the  larger  the  supply  of  water  may  be,  the  most 
retentive  soils  are  therefore  better  used  for  meadows  than 
for  grain  crops. 

In  the  climate  of  America  this  ability  to  hold  water  dur- 
ing the  frequent  long  drouths  of  the  growing  season,  gives 
a  high  value  to  those  soils  which  possess  it  in  the  highest 
degree ;  and  also  has  a  noteworthy  bearing  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  drainage ;  for  where  a  soil  is  able  to,  and  will,  retain 
more  water  in  its  pores,  without  parting  with  it  by  percola- 
tion, it  is  all  the  more  necessary  and  the  least  injurious  to 
supply  the  land  with  an  escape  for  the  surplus.  For  the 
more  water  that  is  held  by  the  soil,  the  less  air  can  be  con- 
tained in  it  and  air  is  quite  as  useful  for  the  growth  of  plants 
as  water  is,  for  while  water  is  the  vehicle  by  which  nutri- 
ment is  conveyed  into  plants,  it  has  been  shown  that  a  large 
quantity  of  food  is  derived  by  plants  either  directly  or  in- 
directly from  the  atmosphere,  which  requires  this  vehicle 
for  its  conveyance. 

A  fact  of  much  interest  in  this  connection  is  that  those 
soils  which  absorb  the  most  water  resist  evaporation  for  the 
longest  period.     The  power  of  absorption  is  due  to  the  sur- 


EVAPORATION   FROM   THE   SOIL.  135 

face. attraction  of  the  particles  of  the  soil  for  water.  The 
finer  the  particles  of  the  soil,  the  greater  quantity  of  water 
is  absorbed,  because  the  total  surface  is  greater.  The  nat- 
ural result  of  this  is,  that  the  slower  is  the  evaporation  from, 
the  soil,  because  the  natural  affinity  of  the  surfaces  for  mois- 
ture being  greater  it  is  proportionately  harder  to  overcome 
it  by  evaporation.  The  following  table  gives  the  results 
reached  by  Schubler  in  experiments  in  this  direction. 
In  the  first  column  the  figures  are  nearly  a  repetition 
of  those  given  in  the  last  preceding  table,  but  they 
are  here  placed  in  juxta-position  with  the  second  column, 
which  shows  the  quantity  of  water  which  was  evaporated 
in  4  hours  when  the  samples  of  the  soil  were  spread  over 
equal  surfaces  and  exposed  to  the  same  conditions. 

Per  ceid.  Per  cent,  of 

of  water  water  evaporated 

aosorbed.  in  4  hours. 

Quartz  sand 25  88.4 

Limestone  sand 29  75.9 

Clay  with  40  per  cent,  sand 40  52. 

Loam 51  45.7 

Common  arable  land 52  32. 

Heavy  clay  20  per  cent,  sand 61  34.6 

Powdered  carbonate  of  lime 85  28. 

Garden  soil 89  24.3 

Peat  decayed 181  25.5 

This  resistence  to  evaporation  is  not  only  due  to  the  ad- 
hesion of  the  water  to  the  surfaces  of  the  particles  of  the  soil, 
but  is  due  to  capillary  attraction.  If  a  capillary  tube,  that 
is  one  having  a  very  small  diameter,  is  dipped  into  water  a 
portion  of  its  length ;  the  water  wdthin  the  tube  rises  con- 
siderably above  the  level  of  that  without  it.  This  is  due  to 
what  is  known  as  capillary  attraction.  If  a  piece  of  woolen 
cloth  is  hung  over  the  edge  of  a  pail  half  full  of  water,  so 
that  one  end  is  in  the  water,  the  water  will  rise  through  the  fi- 
bers of  the  cloth ;  these  forming  capillary  tubes ;  and  will  flow 
over  the  edge  of  the  pail  until  the  pail  is  emptied.  If  two 
sheets  of  glass  are  placed  in  a  vessel  of  colored  water,  and 
the  two  edges  are  brought  into  contact  at  one  side 
and  separated  a  small  space  at  the  other  side,  the  col- 
ored water  will  be  seen  to  rise  between  the  plates  and 


136  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

form  a  curve,  or  line  which  marks  the  gradual  approach 
of  the  two.  The  liquid  rises  higher  as  the  space 
between  the  plates  is  closer.  This  is  due  to  capillary  ac- 
tion. The  same  action  is  exerted  in  the  spaces  between  the 
particles  of  the  soil;  the  vertical  spaces  forming  tubes  through 
the  mass. 

When  water  is  poured  into  the  saucer  of  a  flower  pot  the 
soil  gradually  draAvs  it  up  until  the  top  is  moistened.  This 
takes  place  in  the  soil  of  a  field;  the  water  being  gradually 
drawn  up  from  below  until  the  capacity  to  hold  it  is  fully 
exercised.  Thus  there  is  a  constant  ebb  and  flow  of  water 
in  the  soil.  The  rains  descend  and  sink  into  the  soil 
finding  an  outlet  in  springs  at  a  lower  level ;  or  a  rest- 
ing place  in  the  subsoil ;  and  it  is  gradually  brought  to 
the  surface  again  by  this  capillary  attraction  to  supply  the 
crops.  The  soil  is  charged  with  saline  and  other  soluble 
plant  food  ;  and  as  the  water  is  everywhere  diffused  through 
the  soil  these  fertilizing  matters  are  spread  through  it,  find- 
ing their  way  with  the  waters  among  the  interstices  between 
the  smallest  particles.  As  the  soil  is  filled  with  water  in 
wet  weather,  and  the  water  sinks,  it  necessarily  carries  this 
saline  matter  with  it,  but  this  is  all  brought  back  again  as 
the  surface  dries  and  the  moisture  rises  again  in  obedience 
to  this  natural  law.  Successive  portions  of  water  rise  to  the 
surface,  evaporate  into  the  air,  or  pass  by  transpiration 
through  the  leaves  of  plants,  leaving  fertilizing  matter  be- 
hind them.  Thus  in  the  growing  season  a  large  supply  of 
food  for  plants  is  brought  up  from  below,  within  the  reach 
of  their  roots,  and  difflised  intimately  through  the  soil,  so 
that  the  finest  fiber  of  the  feeding  roots  is  supplied,  and  as 
this  ascent  of  water  and  evaporation  of  it,  go  on  all  through 
the  dry  weather  of  the  summer,  the  fertilizing  matter  accum- 
ulates in  the  surface  soil  about  the  roots  of  the  crops  and 
places  within  their  reach  an  ample  supply  of  every  soluble 
substance  which  is  existing  in  the  soil.  As  one  may  make 
a  fire  and  see  the  smoke  ascend  and  become  diffused 
throughout  the  atmosphere  and  disappear,  but  yet  perceive 
its  odor  even  at  a  long  distance  from  the  fire,  so  the  fertiliz- 


NECESSITY   FOR   THOROUGH  CULTURE.  137 

Ing  matter  existing  in  the  soil,  or  applied  to  it  by  the  far- 
mer, spreads  and  diffuses  itself  among  the  particles  of  the 
soil  and  disappears  from  view,  but  its  aliment  is  tasted  by 
the  plants,  and  absorbed  by  them  and  changed  by  the  won- 
derful processes  of  natural  chemistry  into  vegetable  tissue 
and  solid  substance,  which  affords  appropriate  subsistence 
for  animals.  This  capillary  action  and  consequent  process 
of  diffusion  in  the  soil  is  of  the  greatest  importance  and  is 
intimately  connected  with  the  profitable  culture  of  the  crops. 
It  goes  on  most  effectively  in  thoroughly  pulverized  soil;  hence 
the  farmers  business — understanding  this  process — is  to  use 
ihe  best  possible  means^  by  thorough  working  with  most  effec- 
tive implements^  to  produce  this  necessary  condition  of  his  fields. 
All  this  goes  on  within  the  view  of  the  farmer  who  gives 
his  mangel  crop  a  dressing  of  salt,  for  which  this  crop  has 
a  strong  liking.  The  white  covering  of  the  soil  quickly  dis- 
appears ;  being  dissolved  in  the  moisture  and  carried  by 
diffusion  everywhere  through  the  soil.  It  may  not  be  quite 
evenly  spread  on  the  surface  but  it  is  soon  very  evenly  scat- 
tered through  the  soil  and  the  rains  carry  it  down  into  it. 
A  chemist,  by  analysis,  might  detect  it  although  it  has  dis- 
appeared to  the  eye,  but  as  the  surface  soil  is  dried  by  the 
heat  it  will  reappear  in  a  white  efflorescence  on  the  ground 
where  it  is  brought  up  by  the  evaporating  water  from  below; 
and  this  crust  is  gradually  increased  in  thickness  by  repeated 
accessions  as  each  particle  of  water,  brings  up  its  load  of  the 
saline  matter,  and  evaporating  leaves  it  on  the  surface;  from 
whence  it  is  again  carried  down  by  the  next  rain  to  circu- 
late over  again  in  the  same  manner.  This  diffusion  of  wat- 
er through  the  soil  is  precisely  similar  to  that  of  the  atmos- 
phere. The  air  circulates  through  the  soil  spaces  by  the 
force  of  expansion  and  contraction  caused  by  the  effects  of 
heat  and  cold ;  and  the  water  circulates  in  precisely  a  simi- 
lar manner,  by  the  same  agency,  and  in  hot  dry  climates 
this  diffusion  of  moisture  by  capillary  attraction  going  on 
without  intermission,  secures  the  safety  of  the  crops  and 
makes  agriculture  possible.  In  some  of  our  Western  States 
and  Territories,  this  process  may  be  seen  going  on  now  as 


i38  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

it  has  been  going  on  for  ages,  in  the  constant  accretion  of 
extensive  beds  of  salt;  borax;  soda;  and  other  saline  sub- 
stances which  have  been  deposited  on  the  surface,  by  the 
long  continued  evaporation  in  the  dry  arid  climate,  of  the 
water  of  the  soil  which  has  held  them  in  solution.  The 
niter  beds  of  Peru  and  Chili,  which  are  many  feet  in  thick- 
ness have  been  deposited  in  the  same  manner ;  the  vastness 
of  the  accumulations  showing  the  great  amount  of  the  evap- 
orations which  have  been  going  on. 

The  contraction  of  the  soil  by  drying  is  a  property  which 
is  exerted  in  proportion  to  the  power  of  absorbing  water. 
Some  soils,  such  as  pure  clays  and  peat  diminish  in  bulk  b^ 
drying,  very  considerably.  A  sample  of  compact  black 
peat  tested  by  the  author,  weighing  8  lbs.  when  taken  from 
the  swamp,  shrank  when  perfectly  dry  to  1  pound  in  weight 
thus  losing  BTs  per  cent,  of  water,  and  to  one  half  its  bulk. 
Clay  soil  shrinks  about  25  per  cent,  in  its  bulk  in  drying, 
while  a  sandy  loam  loses  scarcely  anything.  The  more 
clay  or  vegetable  matter  the  soil  contains  the  more  it  con- 
tracts, and  the  cracking  of  the  surface  thus  occasioned  is 
often  seriously  injurious  to  the  roots  of  the  crops;  ruptur- 
ing the  roots  as  the  fissures  open.  A  strong  clay  soil  has 
been  known  to  be  fissured  in  this  manner  down  to  the 
drains  at  a  depth  of  four  feet,  so  that  the  next  rain  poured 
down  into  the  drains  in  floods  without  soaking  the  surface. 
This  property  of  clay  land  is  one  of  its  disadvantages  which 
should  be  noted  and  should  encourage  its  improvement  by 
a  considerable  admixture  of  vegetable  matter  which  will 
add  to  its  porosity  and  make  it  less  subject  to  an  injurious- 
evaporation. 

The  relation  of  the  soil  to  the  atmosphere,  in  regard  to 
its  physical  properties,  is  a  part  of  this  subject  which  should 
not  be  neglected :  for  the  power  of  absorbing  gaseous  sub- 
stances from  the  air  is  of  great  importance  to  the  growth  of 
crops.  The  absorption  of  oxygen  by  porous  substances  has 
already  been  referred  to,  and  the  more  porous  soils  exert 
this  power  to  the  largest  extent.  A  supply  of  oxygen  is^ 
required  for  the  germination  of  a  seed   as  w  ell  as  for  the 


ABSORPTION   OF   GASES   BY   THE   SOIL.  139 

growth  of  a  plant.  It  is  of  consequence  to  the  farmer 
therefore  that  this  oxygen  should  gain  access  to  every  part 
of  the  soil  and  thus  to  the  seed  and  the  roots  of  the  plants. 
This  easy  acccess  is  of  course  facilitated  artificially  by  the 
perfect  working  of  the  land  and  making  it  as  porous  as  pos- 
sible. But  there  are  some  soils  which  absorb  oxygen  with 
more  rapidity  and  in  larger  quantity  than  others.  Clays 
absorb  more  oxygen  than  sandy  soils :  and  vegetable  soils 
and  peat  more  than  clays.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  natu- 
ral porosity  of  the  soil  and  in  part  to  its  chemical  composi- 
tion. Clay  containing  oxides  of  other  minerals,  for  in- 
stance, absorbs  oxygen  which  enters  into  combination  with 
it,  and  decaying  vegetable  matter  takes  up  much  of  it  to 
assist  in  its  decomposition.  * 

These  remarks  all  apply  to  the  power  and  natural  ten- 
dency of  soils  to  absorb  carbonic  acid  from  the  atmosphere,, 
together  with  the  ammonia  which  rises  from  the  earth  from 
decaying  matter,  and  nitric  acid  which  may  be  formed  in 
the  air  by  electrical  agency,  and  these  contribute  to  some 
valuable  extent  to  the  natural  fertility  of  the  land,  but  neces- 
sarily in  proportion  to  the  power  of  absorption  which  is  due 
to'its  condition  of  porosity.  Nothing  more  positive  than  this, 
however  can  be  asserted,  because  of  the  absence  of  satisfac- 
tory experiments  in  this  direction  as  to  the  relative  capa- 
bilities of  soils  to  extract  vegetable  plant  food  from  the  at- 
mosphere ;  but  one  fact  has  been  clearly  ascertained,  viz: 
that  all  soils  absorb  gaseous  substances  of  every  kind  most 
readily  and  in  the  greatest  abundance  when  they  are  in  a 
moist  state.  The  rain  fall,  and  the  deposition  of  dew,  as 
well  as  the  condensation  of  moisture  in  the  soil  from  the  at- 
mosphere which  circulates  within  it,  will  all,  therefore,  fa- 
vor this  absorption  of  fertilizing  gaseous  matter ;  and  this 
will  be  greatest  in  those  soils  which  naturally  possess  this 
power  in  the  greatest  degree;  and  when  the  artificial  con- 
dition of  the  soil,  produced  by  thorough  culture  and  pul- 
verization, assists  its  natural  proclivities  most  eflfectively. 

The  power  of  absorption  of  the  suns  heat  is  another  ex- 
ceedingly important  property  of  soils  and  this   also   varies 


140  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

with  the  character  of  the  land.  It  has  been  found  that  the 
surface  of  the  earth  acquires  a  much  higher  temperature 
when  the  rays  of  the  sun  beat  down  upon  it,  than  the  sur- 
rounding air.  A  temperature  of  110  or  120  degrees  is  quite 
commonly  acquired;  while  at  times  it  rises  to  150  ;  while  the 
air  is  no  warmer  than  70  or  80  degrees  in  the  shade.  Thus 
the  soil  is  provided  with  a  supply  of  heat  which  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  growing  crops:  especially  to 
those  subtropical  plants,  such  as  corn,  which  delight  in  this 
genial  warmth.  Every  farmer  knows  how  his  corn  shoots 
up  in  its  growth  on  those  warm  moist  nights,  following  hot 
days,  when  the  accumulated  heat  of  the  soil  is  retained,  and 
intensifies  those  chemical  agencies  w^hich  change  the  plant 
food  in  the  soil  into  vegetable  tissue  and  thus  force  the  sur- 
prising growth  which  is  noticed  under  such  favorable  cir- 
cumstances. A  corn  plant  has  been  known  to  increase  in 
height  nearly  2  inches  in  the  8  hours  between  the  light  of 
two  days  in  August,  at  a  season  when  the  growth  is  most 
luxuriant. 

This  power  of  absorbing  heat  depends  upon  the  color  as 
well  as  the  texture  of  the  soil.  Every  one  knows  how  the 
suns  heat  is  absorbed  by  dark  colored  clothes,  and  that  it.is 
for  this  reason  that  light  colored  clothing  is  worn  in  the 
summer  ;  also  how^  a  black  kettle  will  heat  water  over  a  fire 
more  quickly  than  a  bright  one.  In  the  same  way  and  for 
the  same  reason  a  dark  colored  soil  absorbs  very  much  more 
heat  than  a  light  colored  one,  and  hence  the  vegetation  upon 
dark  soils  will  be  more  luxuriant  than  upon  light  ones. 
The  black  prairie  soils  of  the  Western  States  produce  more 
and  better  corn  for  this  reason  than  the  white  or  grey  soils 
of  other  localities,  and  when  light  sandy  soils  are  darkened 
in  color  by  a  liberal  admixture  of  peat  compost,  they  are 
improved  very  considerably. 

This  power  of  absorbing  heat  possessed  by  dark  colored 
soils,  however,  is  not  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  te- 
nacity or  power  of  retaining  heat ;  for  black  peaty  soils  will 
cool  as  much  in  one  hour  after  night  fall  as  a  light  sandy 
or  clay  soil  will  in  three.    This  difference  however  does  not 


EFFECTS  OF  GOOD  CULTURE.  141 

operate  wholly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  dark  soils,  for  as 
the  cooling  progresses  most  rapidly  the  dew  is  deposited 
with  equal  facility ;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  this  accession  of 
moisture  may  not  be  of  greater  benefit  to  a  , parched  soil 
than  the  longer  retention  of  the  warmth  might  be.  Besides 
as  the  dark  soils  become  heated  more  abundantly  than  oth- 
ers, they  can  better  spare  their  excess  of  heat  than  lighter 
soils  can,  and  yet  have  an  abundance  remaining  for  every 
need  of  the  crops. 

Such  then  are,  in  the  main,  the  most  important  physical 
properties  of  the  soil.  Over  much  of  them  the  intelligent 
farmer  has  easy  and  effective  control  as  will  be  explained  in 
a  future  chapter.  He  can  drain  land  that  is  excessively  wet 
or  which  is  sealed  below  by  an  impermeable  subsoil  and  thus 
open  it  to  the  beneficent  influence  of  the  vitalizing  atmos- 
phere with  all  its  burden  of  fertilizing  agencies;  and  to  the 
vivifying  influence  of  the  suns  heat.  He  can  plow  and  pul- 
verize it  and  make  it  more  open  and  porous  and  so  give  ef- 
fect to  its  chemical  influences  over  such  organic  matter  as  it 
may  contain  as  will  more  quickly  prepare  it  for  the  aliment 
of  the  crops.  He  can  stiffen  and  darken  the  lighter  sandy 
soils  and  loosen  and  soften  the  heavier  clay,  by  mixing  com- 
posts or  manure  with  them  and  thus  make  either  more  val- 
uable for  his  purposes. 

But  while  the  physical  properties  of  the  soil  have  much 
to  do  with  its  productive  power,  these  are  only  secondary 
and  helpful  to  its  primary  condition  of  fertility.  It  maybe 
neither  too  heavy  nor  too  light;  too  wet  nor  too  dry;  too 
cold  nor  too  warm;  too  fine  nor  too  coarse;  too  high  nor 
too  low;  may  be  situated  in  the  most  propitious  climate; 
and  consist  of  a  well  proportioned  mixture  of  sand  and  clay ; 
contain  an  average  quantity  of  vegetable  matter  and  have 
every  benefit  of  a  warm  and  favoring  locality;  and  yet  it 
may  disappoint  the  expectations  of  the  farmer  or  be  wholly 
barren.  The  want  of  one  of  the  indispensable  elements  of 
plant  food  in  it  may  forbid  the  growth  of  one  spear  of  grass, 
and  make  of  it  a  barren  waste.  Therefore  the  physical  prop- 
erties of  the  soil  are  only  accessory  to  its  chemical  consti- 


142  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

tution ;  and  make  available  its  natural  fertility  without  add- 
ing to  it. 

But  the  study  of  these  physical  properties  of  soils  is  not 
without  an  important  practical  value.  For  a  farm  may 
have  a  fertile  soil  and  be  endowed  with  an  abundance  of 
fit  food  for  crops.  It  may  have  every  provision  for  this  val- 
uable use,  and  yet  its  condition  may  be  such  that  only  the 
lowest  and  most  useless  plants  can  support  themselves  upon 
it.  It  may  produce  reeds  and  rushes;  sour  unwholesome 
sedges;  useless  moses  and  ferns,  and  weeds  which  are  wholly 
valueless  for  the  support  of  animals,  and  yet  the  skillful 
farmer  knowing  the  principles  which  relate  to  the  physical 
properties  of  soils,  may  take  such  an  undesirable  farm  and 
by  a  judicious  course  of  improvement  may  make  a  garden  of 
it,  and  wring  from  it  the  hidden  stores  of  wealth  which  lie 
within  it.  But  to  do  this  he  must  recognize  and  understand 
what  the  functions  of  the  soil  are ;  that  these  are  of  two  kinds 
and  each  of  these  are  distinct  and  separate  but  important 
and  necessary  to  the  growth  of  plants.    These  are 

First — To  uphold  and  sustain  the  plant  and  afford  it  a 
safe  and  secure  anchorage. 

Second. — To  absorb  air,  water  and  heat  and  retain  these 
for  the  promotion  of  the  growth  of  crops. 

These  are  its  mechanical  and  physical  functions. 

Third. — To  supply  to  plants  food  of  whatever  kinds  may 
be  required  for  the  profitable  growth  of  crops. 

Fourth. — To  give  effect  to  all  those  chemical  changes 
which  are  required  to  produce  the  changes  in  the  various 
elements  of  this  food  by  which  they  are  prepared  for  admis- 
sion into  the  roots  and  circulation  of  plants. 

These  functions  of  the  soil  are  performed  in  a  very  inade- 
quate manner  by  nature,  and  while  nature  contributes  the 
materials,  and  the  forces  by  which  the  materials  may  be 
made  available,  yet  the  use  and  direction  of  these  are  left 
to  mankind,  whose  labor  gives  effect  to  them.  And  all  the 
operations  of  the  farmer  are  intended  to  make  these  materi- 
als and  forces  available;  t(f  aid  and  assist  in,  and  give  full 
effect  to,  the  performance  of  these  functions  of  the  soil  by 


THE   FUNCTIONS   OF   THE   SOII,...  143 

all  those  methods  which  are  included  in  the  term  "culture." 
The  consideration  of  the  questions  which  arise  in  a  descrip- 
tion and  discussion  of  these  methods  by  which  the  culture 
of  farm  crops  is  made  effective  and  profitable  will  be  taken 
up  in  the  following  chapters.  ^: 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


PART    THIRD. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE  EXHAUSTION  OF  THE  SOIL. 

The  soil  may  be  compared  to  a  manufactory,  to  which  is 
attached  a  storehouse  for  the  keeping  of  the  raw  materials 
which  are  from  time  to  time  worked  up  in  the  factory;  and 
the  manufactured  products,  which  are  made  up.  When  in 
time  of  active  business  an  excessive  demand  occurs  for  the 
finished  goods  beyond  the  power  of  the  factory  to  supply 
them,  the  stock  is  exhausted ;  and  no  more  sales  or  deliver- 
ies can  be  made  until  the  factory  has  had  time  to  refurnish 
the  store  with  a  new  stock.  But  if  one  needed  material, 
wool;  cotton;  dye  stuff;  oil  for  the  machinery;  fuel  for  the 
furnace  for  driving  the  engine,  or  money  to  pay  for  the  la- 
bor, is  wanting,  the  work  stops.  There  may  be  everything^ 
but  a  little  oil  even;  or  one  single  color  in  the  dye  house; 
yet  everything  must  stop  until  this  necessary  article  is  sup- 
plied. The  experienced  owner  and  manager,  however,^ 
makes  it  his  business  to  see  that  every  one  of  these  needed 
articles  are  kept  in  stock  ready  for  instant  supply  when 
called  for.  He  keeps  a  stock  book  in  which  is  entered  all 
receipts  and  all  expenditures  of  all  these  supplies,  and  he 
carefully  looks  over  this  book  at  stated  times  and  notices 
how  the  consumption  is  going  on,  that  a  fresh  stock  may  be 
laid  in  before  the  old  is  exhausted  and  work  might  be  stop- 
ped for  want  of  some  one  little  thing. 

This  is  precisely  what  the  farmer  should  do  and  must  do 
for  the  most  successful  culture  of  his  crops.  He  has  a  store 
of  raw  materials  in  his  soil,  and  nature  carries  on  there  a 
manufactory  in  which  these  raw  materials  are  used  for  the 


AMOUNT   OF   PLANT    FOOD   IN   THE  SOIL.  145 

production  of  crops.  Nothing  is  or  can  be  taken  froni  the 
soil  unless  from  the  materials  which  are  stored  in  it,  or  are 
added  to  it  from  time  to  time  as  the  store  is  drawn  upon. 
The  store  consists  of  those  elements  of  plant  growth  which 
have  been  previously  described,  and  which,  as  may  be  seen 
by  the  figures  which  represent  their  various  proportions,, 
(given  below)  exist  in  definite  and  known  quantities.  They 
are  therefore  far  from  inexhaustible,  and  all  the  more  so,. 
that  only  a  very  small  quantity  of  the  most  valuable  of  them 
exists  in  an  available  condition.  If  a  farmer  should  be  led 
to  think  otherwise  and  hope  to  grow  crops  until  the  entire 
stores  are  used  up,  he  will  be  quickly  undeceived  by  the  ear- 
ly and  rapid  lessening  of  the  yield,  until  in  time  only  puny 
weak  plants  are  grown,  having  not  enough  of  vigor  andi 
strength  to  produce  a  seed.  Then  the  soil  is  exhausted,  or  as 
he  says  it  is  worn  out;  run  down  and  impoverished;  and  the 
supply  of  raw  material  having  given  out,  the  manufactory  is 
obliged  to  stop  until  the  stock  is  replenished. 

The  amount  of  plant  food  in  an  acre  of  good  arable 
soil  9  inches  deep,  which  is  equal  to  about  3,000,000  lbs. 
when  dry,  is  shown  in  the  following  table  : 

COMPOSITION   OF    A    FERTILE   SOIL,    9    INCHES   DEEP  OVER 

ONE   ACRE. 

Silica 2.308.700  pounds. 

Alumina 255.000  " 

Oxide  of  iron 132.000  " 

Lime 60.900  •* 

Magnesia 79.800  '* 

Potash 34.200  '* 

Soda 36.200  " 

Phosphoric  acid 19.500  " 

Sulphuric  acid 1.830  " 

Chlorine 1.800  " 

Organic  matter 70.000  " 

2.999.930 

There  are  fertile  soils  which  do  not  contain  more  than  a 
tenth  part  of  the  above  quantities  of  lime,  soda,  potash,  and 
phosphoric  acid;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not 
so  much  the  total  absolute  quantities  of  these  elements,  but 
their  condition  of  availability ;  their  solubility  in  fact;  upon. 


146  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

which  the  actual  fertility  of  the  soil  depends.  The  compo- 
sition of  a  barren  and  unfruitful  soil  is  given  in  the  follow- 
ing table. 

COMPOSITION    OF   A    BARREN   SOIL    EXHAUSTED    OF    SOME 

ELEMENTS,    9   INCHES   DEEP   OVER   ONE  ACRE. 

Silica  and  sand 2.333.400  pounds. 

Alumina 284.700        " 

Oxide  of  iron 174.000       " 

Oxide  of  manganese 3.150       " 

Lime 25.980        " 

Magnesia 21.840       " 

Potash trace  only 

Boda trace  only 

Pho^^phoric  acid 90       " 

Sulphuric  acid trace  only 

Carbonicacid 6.000       " 

Chlorine trace  only 

Organic  matter 150.840       " 

3.000.000 

The  failure  of  this  soil  to  produce  crops  is  clearly  due  to 
the  absence  of  potash,  soda,  sulphuric  acid  and  chlorine, 
and  the  exceedingly  small  quantity  of  phosphoric  acid,  and 
which  the  abundance  of  other  elements  has  no  power  to 
neutralize. 

The  actually  available  amount  of  plant  food  of  any  fer- 
tile soil  is  exceedingly  small.  No  more  of  any  quantity, 
however  large  it  may  be,  then  is  soluble  in  water  can 
be  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  a  plant;  and  it  is  rarely  that 
any  quantity  that  is  soluble  in  water,  can  be  discovered  by 
the  most  delicate  analysis,  existing  in  100  pounds  of  any 
soil.  In  analyzing  soils  the  chemist  uses  acid  solvents,  but 
plants  have  the  aid  only  of  water,  with  a  very  small  quan- 
tity of  carbonic  acid,  to  prepare  their  food  for  them.  Con- 
sequently the  exhaustion  of  the  available  plant  food  from 
an  apparently  inexhaustible  soil  is  the  work  of  only  a  very 
few  years.  Twenty  years  at  the  most,  is  the  period  during 
which  the  fertile  virgin  soils  of  our  forests  or  prairies  will 
bear  satisfactory  crops  unless  they  are  manured  and  brought 
under  a  judicious  rotation. 

The  amount  of  organic  and  inorganic  matter  which  is  re- 
moved by  the  ordinary  farm  crops  from  an  acre  of  soil  is 
shown  in  the  following  table. 


YIELD  AND  COMPOSITION   OF   FARM   CROPS.        147 


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148 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


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WHY  SOILS  BECOME   EXHAUSTED.  149 

An  inspection  of  the  table  above  presented  gives  only  a 
faint  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  elements  of  fertility 
are  withdrawn  from  the  soil  in  the  regular  course  of  crop- 
ping. If  we  figure  up  the  amount  of  mineral  mattei-s  car- 
ried off  during  the  ordinary  4  course  rotation  of  wheat,  oats, 
corn,  and  clover  for  2  years,  on  a  well  cultivated  farm,  we 
have  the  following  results. 

Wheat.  Oats.  Com.   2  years  Clover.    Total. 

Nitrogen 45.  52.  56.  204.  357.      IbS. 

Sulphur 7.8  .   8.0  14.7  18.8  49.3 

Potash 27.9  *  38.1  58.0  174.8  298.8 

Soda 3.4  7.3  2.0  8.2  20.9 

Lime 10.2  11.8  15.7  172.2  209.9 

Magnesia 7.7  9.2  12.3  61.8  91.0 

Phosphoric  acid....  22.7  18.9  25.1  50.2  116.9 

Chlorine 1.9  5.5  18.8  26.2 

Silica .111.1  94.1  54.5  13.6  273.3 

237.7  244.9  238.3  722.4  1443.3 

The  amount  thus  taken  from  the  soil  in  5  years  is  very 
large,  and  considering  that  it  is  all  derived  from  the  stock 
of  soluble  plant  food  existing  in  the  soil,  it  is  no  matter  for 
surprise  that  20  years  of  such  cultivation  should  leave  the 
soil  destitute  of  fertility  and  unable  to  bear  the  same  abun- 
dant crops.  Indeed  to  such  a  condition  of  sterility  have  a 
large  portion  of  the  cultivated  lands  in  New  England  and 
the  Southern  States  been  reduced  by  this  process  of  exhaus- 
tive culture  that  a  larger  expense  will  be  required  for  their 
restoration  to  even  a  moderate  degree  of  fertility,  than 
would  be  equal  to  their  value  when  thus  restored.  No  far- 
mer who  lives  by  his  mere  labor,  and  who  has  not  a  large  cap- 
ital to  spend  in  fertilizers  and  a  slow  costly  process  of  re- 
covery, can  hope  to  do  anything  with  these  farms,  many  of 
which  are  abandoned  to  the  slow  process  of  recovery  by  nat- 
ural methods  and  the  gradual  accretion  of  carbon  and 
nitrogen  from  the  sparse  contributions  of  the  atmosphere, 
which  may  sustain  a  thin  growth  of  weeds  and  humble 
plants  during  a  long  series  of  years,  the  remains  of  which 
may  in  time  gather  a  sufficient  provision  for  a  new  culture. 

It  has  been  explained  that  some  of  the  mineral  constitu- 
ents of  a  fertile  soil  exist  in  sufficient  abundance  for  all  the 
requirements  of  cultivated  crops  for  all  time.    Alumina  and 


150         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

silica  however  are  the  only  parts  of  the  soil  which  are  thus 
bountifully  provided  by  nature.  Every  one  of  the  others, 
even  lime,  of  which  30  tons  per  acre  are  contained  in  many 
soils — and  in  some  there  is  much  more  than  this — is  quite 
rapidly  exhausted,  so  far  as  the  requirements  of  a  full  crop 
are  concerned,  by  a  few  crops ;  for  although  there  may  be 
many  tons  of  lime  still  remaining  in  the  soil  only  a  small 
quantity  of  it  is  available  because  it  is  soluble  in  water  ta 
a  very  small  extent.  The  same  is  true  of  the  potash;  soda^ 
phosphoric  acid;  and  magnesia;  all  indispensably  necessary 
to  the  crops  as  has  been  shown  above. 

A  small  quantity  of  all  these  elements  of  plant  food  is 
dissolved  in  the  soil  by  the  rain  water,  aided  by  the  carbon- 
ic acid  which  (as  has  been  previously  explained)  the  water 
holds  in  solution.  The  quantity  so  set  free  in  the  soil  is  the 
measure  of  its  natural  fertility :  just  as  the  7  to  10  pounds 
of  nitrogen  which  is  known  to  be  contributed  by  the  at- 
mosphere in  the  form  of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  and  the 
few  pounds  of  carbon  supplied  by  the  carbonic  acid  which 
is  also  derived  from  the  atmosphere,  are  the  measure  of 
the  natural  resources  of  the  soil  in  these  respects.  This 
natural  fertility  is  able  to  support  the  common  spontaneous 
growth  of  soil  which  contains  no  accumulated  stock  de- 
rived from  the  decay  of  previous  crops.  If  the  soil  dug 
from  a  deep  well  is  thrown  out  on  the  surface  and  sown 
with  seeds  and  cultivated,  the  yield  would  represent  pre- 
cisely this  natural  fertility.  A  very  poor  growth  would  be 
the  result.  If  the  precise  quantity  of  all  the  available  ele- 
ments of  plant  growth  in  such  a  soil  could  be  ascertained 
and  the  amount  deducted  from  the  known  quantities  drawn 
from  the  cultivated  soil  by  a  full  crop,  we  could  then  cal- 
culate with  reasonable  exactness  what  the  soil  loses  each 
year,  and  what  the  farmer  must  supply  to  it  to  prevent  its 
final  exhaustion  and  preserve  it  in  a  fully  fertile  condition. 

But  there  are  so  many  accidents  of  season,  and  other 
circumstances,  which  interfere  with  the  growth  of  the  crops, 
that  the  farmer  could  not  safely  depend  upon  such  a  cal- 
culation.   To  be  safe,  he  must  leave  a  very  liberal  margin 


VARIATION   IN   THE   CHARACTER   OF   PLANTS.  151 

to  cover  these  risks;  and  on  the  whole  he  will  not  feel  safe 
until  he  supplies  to  his  fields  at  least  as  much  as,  and  if 
possible  more  than  the  crops  draw  from  them,  and  not 
only  retain  the  original  stock  of  fertility  and  accumulate 
each  year  the  contributions  of  the  atmosphere,"'  but  keep 
adding  to  these,  either  by  direct  additions  in  the  shape  of 
manures,  or  of  green  crops  or  other  vegetable  matter 
plowed  in,  or  procure  some  additional  matter  from  the  soil 
through  the  agency  of  tillage. 

It  is  a  frequent  supposition  that  crops  of  different  kinds 
are  constant  and  unchangeable  in  regard  to  their  constitu- 
ents and  the  quantities  of  the  various  elements  they  draw 
from  the  soil.  And  while  it  has  been  stated  as  a  rule,  that 
these  drafts  made  upon  the  soil  are  in  so  great  a  measure 
constant  and  regular  that  they  are  typical  of  the  various 
crops  grown,  yet  within  narrow  limits;  a  certain  variation 
is  found  to  exist  which  is  the  result  of  distinct  differences 
in  soils.  Every  farmer  has  known  in  his  own  personal  ex- 
perience, or  through  the  experience  of  others,  that  any  par- 
ticular crop,  as  wheat,  varies  in  character  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil.  That  upon  soils  of  a  silicious  or  sandy 
character  with  an  abundance  of  lime  in  it,  the  wheat  has  a 
bright  clean  thin  husk  and  a  stiff  bright  clean  straw,  w^hile 
upon  other  soils  containing  a  large  quantity  of  organic 
matter  and  being  deficient  in  silica  and  lime,  the  grain  has 
a  soft  thick  husk,  a  very  weak  chaff,  and  straw  that  is  not 
able  to  bear  the  weight  of  the  ear  and  lodges  very  easily. 
Similar  differences  have  been  experienced  in  regard  to 
other  crops;  oats;  barley  and  potatoes;  and  even  with  for- 
est trees  and  many  other  plants  and  their  fruits.  Wheat 
straw  has  been  known  to  vary  so  much  in  this  respect  that 
various  samples  of  100  lbs.  of  it  grown  upon  different  soils, 
have  contained  Si  lbs. ;  41  lbs.  6 J  lbs.  15 J  lbs.  and  16?  lbs. 
of  ash,  varying  with  each  particular  soil.  Where  the  ash 
was  the  heaviest  the  soil  consisted  of  a  limestone  gravel; 
while  the  straw  with  the"  lightest  ash  was  on  reclaimed 
swamp  land. 

The  same  variations  are  well  known  to  occur  on  the  same 


152         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

farm  in  different  fields  where  the  soil  varies  much  in  char- 
acter ;  and  there  is  no  crop  that  is  grown  which  is  not  sub- 
ject to  modification  in  this  respect.  Even  the  amount  of 
organic  matter  in  plants  is  affected  by  the  differences  of 
soils;  for  some  lands  produce  wheat  much  richer  in  gluten 
than  other  kinds,  and  much  above  the  average  quantity 
contained  in  this  grain,  and  thus  draw  from  the  soil  a  lar- 
ger quantity  of  nitrogen  in  which  gluten  is  exceptionally 
rich.  Sweet  corn  is  much  richer  in  sugar,  as  is  also  sugar- 
cane when  grown  upon  lands  rich  in  carbon,  while  pota- 
toes grown  upon  reclaimed — but  well  drained  and  dry- 
swamp  lands,  rich  in  the  same  element,  contain  the  largest 
proportion  of  starch ;  and  onions  grown  upon  the  same  soil 
yield  far  more  abundantly. 

These  instances  tend  to  show  that  the  exhaustion  of  the 
soil  is  not  an  element  in  the  culture  of  crops  that  can  be 
figured  out  with  precision,  as  is  pretended  by  some  persons, 
and  that  it  is  therefore  exceedingly  unsafe  and  unwise  for 
the  farmer  to  run  close  to  the  limits  indicated  by  the  fig- 
ures. He  must  provide  sufficiently  for  the  demands  of  his 
crops,  as  shown  by  the  tables  previously  given,  without  de- 
pending to  any  large  extent  upon  the  store  which  he  has 
reason  to  believe  exists  in  the  soil,  and  thus  maintain  a 
large  balance  in  hand  to  serve  in  cases  of  any  possible  and 
unexpected  exigencies. 

To  sum  up  the  interesting  considerations  which  present 
themselves  in  this  regard,  it  may  be  stated ; 

First. — That  plants  appropriate  from  the  soil  varying 
quantities  of  inorganic,  or  ash,  substances,  as  their  age  and 
condition  of  growth  may  vary;  and  that  the  different  parts 
of  the  plant  draw  from  the  soil,  some  more,  and  some  less 
of  these  substances  than  others. 

Second. — That  if  the  substances  necessary  for  the  growth 
and  perfection  of  one  part  of  a  plant  more  than  another, 
abound  in  any  soil,  the  crop  will  be  chiefly  developed  in 
that  direction;  one  will  run  to  straw,  another  to  leaf  and  so 
on;  but  as  long  as  the  crop  can  find  food  in  the  soil,  it  will 
take  it  if  only  partially. 


RELATION   OF   CROP   GROWTH   TO   EXHAUSTION.       153 

Third. — Some  substances  appear  to  enter  into  the  circu- 
lation of  plants,  not  so  much  as  actual  and  necessary  con- 
stituents but  more  as  agents  by  which  other  compounds 
may  be  conveyed  into  them.  Salt  for  instance  appears  to 
enter  into  the  substance  of  plants  chiefly  for'  supplying 
chlorine  in  some  cases,  and  soda  in  others.  In  such  cases 
when  these  substances  are  found  to  exert  any  marked  ef- 
feet  upon  the  vegetation,  it  is  to  be  concluded  that  the  soil  '* 
is  deficient  in  them,  and  that  their  use  necessarily  causes  a 
larger  draft  upon  the  soil  for  other  kinds  of  plant  food  to 
supply  the  larger  growth  of  the  crops. 

Fourth. — That  while  the  soil  may  contain  a  very  large 
quantity  of  the  substances  required  for  the  growth  of  vege- 
tation, yet  the  most  of  these  may  be  in  an  unavailable  con- 
dition for  the  use  of  the  crops. 

Fifth. — That  every  soil  possesses  a  certain  amount  of 
natural  fertility,  which  has  been  accumulated  during  past 
ages,  and  that  this  stock  is  exhausted  in  a  comparatively 
few  years,  and  during  this  time  it  will  produce  full  crops 
in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  plant  food  which  it  con- 
tains. 

Sixth. — That  when  this  store  of  accumulated  fertility  is 
exhausted,  or  any  one  element  of  it,  the  crops  fail  and  final- 
ly refuse  to  grow. 

Seventh. — That  the  soil  then  is  able  to  afford  a  certain 
amount  of  plant  food,  which  is  derived  from  its  natural  re- 
sources; and  that  these  consist  of  certain  contributions  from 
the  atmosphere  and  from  the  mineral  compounds  which  ex- 
ist in  the  soil :  but  these  are  wholly  inadequate  for  the  pro- 
duction of  crops. 

Eighth. — That  when  the  soil  has  been  reduced  to  this  low 
condition  of  natural  fertility,  the  farmer  is  obliged  to  sup- 
ply an  adequate  amount  of  available  plant  food  for  the 
growth  of  crops,  in  the  form  of  manures,  composts,  or  fer- 
tilizers. 

Ninth. — That  it  is  not  safe  for  the  farmer  to  depend 
wholly  upon  the  analyses  of  the  various  crops  as  to  the 
amount  of  plant  food  required  by  them;  but  should  supply 


154  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

a  surplus  in  the  form  of  manures  or  fertilizers  so  that  the 
soil  may  be  kept  in  a  constantly  fertile  condition. 

Tenth. — That  thorough  culture  and  pulverization  of  the 
soil,  are  indispensable  for  the  development  of  the  plant 
food  contained  in  it. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  SOILS. 


CHAPTER    XXII.* 

IMPROVEMENT    OF     THE     SOIL      BY     MECHANICAL. 
METHODS. 

The  facts  given  in  preceding  chapters  afford  indubitable 
proof  that  the  natural  capacity  of  the  soil  for  the  produc- 
tion of  farm  crops  varies  so  considerably,  that  the  ability 
of  the  farmer  to  grow  them  profitably  is  at  times  very  much 
restrained.  Every  soil  encourages  by  its  natural  condition, 
a  kind  of  vegetation  best  suited  to  it,  and  is  unable  to  pro- 
duce anything  different  or  better  until  this  natural  condi- 
tion is  changed.  A  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  vegetable 
growth,  and  of  the  nature  of  the  organic  and  inorganic  ele- 
ments of  it,  with  the  obstacles  to  the  development  of  these 
into  food  for  plants,  which  exist  by  reason  of  the  unfavor- 
able physical  conditions  of  the  soil,  will  enable  the  farmer 
to  take  such  means  as  will  overcome  and  remove  these  ob- 
stacles and  enable  the  soil  to  entirely  change  the  character 
of  its  products. 

The  farmer  can  change  the  character  of  the  land  itself; 
he  can  alter  its  physical  condition,  and  its  chemical  consti- 
tution; and  can  thus  fit  it  for  growing  other  species  of  plants^ 
than  it  naturally  bears,  or  if  he  chooses,  can  cause  the  land 
to  produce  these  with  greater  luxuriance  and  in  more  prof- 
itable quantity.  It  is  in  fact  the  production  of  these  chan- 
ges by  the  exertion  of  rightly  directed  labor  and  skillful 
management  which  constitutes  the  whole  art  of  agriculture, 
and  the  laws  which  control  and  make  possible  these  changes, 
comprise  the  whole  science  of  this  art. 

To  attain  these  desirable  ends  the  farmer  may  drain  the 
wet  lands;  irrigate  dry  lands;  lighten  heavy  clays  by  deep 
plowing  and  subsoiling,  and  the  addition  of  lime,  composts, 
sand,  or  peat;  consolidate  light  sandy  soils  by  similar 
methods ;  darken  the  color  of  light  soils  by  adding  composts  of" 


156  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

swamp  muck;  and  by  any  other  means  consistent  with  his 
opportunities  to  remove  the  difficulties  which  stand  in  the 
.  way  of  the  most  productive  culture  of  crops. 

An  excess  of  water  in  the  land  is  hurtful  in  several  ways. 
The  roots  of  plants  are  drowned  in  it  and  perish  for  want 
of  the  needed  air  and  oxygen;  for  where  water  is  air  cannot 
go,  and  where  it  comes  the  lighter  air  is  driven  out.  Plants 
are  starved,  because  the  abundance  of  water  so  weakens  the 
solutions  of  plant  food,  and  presents  this  to  the  roots  so 
much  overcharged  w^th  water,  that  the  plants  are  unable 
to  pass  the  large  quantity  which  is  necessary  to  supply  the 
requisite  solid  nutriment,  through  their  leaves,  and  they 
perish  for  want  of  aliment. 

The  soil  is  cooled  by  the  excessive  evaporation  and  made 
incapable  of  growing  crops  for  the  want  of  sufficient  heat  to 
nourishthemandby  w^hich  the  necessary  circulation  of  air  in 
the  soil  is  produced.  The  warmth  of  the  sun  cannot  pene- 
trate a  w^et  soil,  however  ardently  its  beams  may  descend 
upon  it;  for  heat  cannot  penetrate  water  from  the  surface. 
A  fire  may  be  built  upon  ice  and  will  melt  it  only  very  slow- 
ly; while  if  a  stratum  of  boiling  water  is  carefully  poured 
upon  the  top  of  a  quantity  of  cold  water  or  ice,  the  heat 
will  penetrate  only  to  a  very  little  depth.  And  if  the  heat 
of  the  sun  should  warm  the  surface  of  the  soil  and  set  in 
action  the  consequent  evaporation,  this  w^ill  immediately 
convey  away  the  heat  as  fast  as  it  is  absorbed,  and  the  soil 
will  remain  cold  below,  where  the  roots  of  plants  must  find 
room  to  push  their  fibers. 

The  excessive  water  soon  becomes  charged  with  injuri- 
ous acids  produced  by  the  decomposition  of  the  organic 
matter,  and  these  are  deadly  in  their  effects  upon  vegeta- 
tion. The  oxygen  which  is  required  for  the  change  of  this 
decomposing  matter  into  plant  food  being  denied  entrance 
into  the  soil,  no  aliment  is  prepared  for  the  plants;  but  in- 
stead of  food,  matter  which  is  injurious  is  oflTered  and  there 
can  be  no  healthy  or  useful  vegetation. 

But  when  the  first  step  for  the  improvement  of  a  wet  soil 
is  taken,  all  this  is  changed.    The  drains  carry  off  the  stag- 


/ 

BENEFITS   FROM   DRAINAGE.  157 

nant  water,  and  give  a  ready  escape  for  all  that  may  rise 
from  springs,  or  which  falls  in  the  rains.  A  flowing  current 
is  at  once  established  and  life  and  health  at  once  take  the 
place  of  the  unwholesome  effects  and  death,  A^l^i^^  accom- 
panied the  stagnant  water.  The  active  current  brings  in 
oxygen  and  carbonic  acid  which  is  given  up  to  the  soil; 
the  atmosphere  takes  the  place  of  the  withdrawn  water  and 
the  heat  of  the  sun  enters  the  now  porous  soil  and  starts  the 
active  circulation  within  it,  which  represent  precisely,  but 
in  a  minute  way  the  air  currents  above  the  earths  surface, 
which  we  call  winds;  but  which  are  caused  and  controlled 
by  the  same  changes  of  temperature  which  occur  in  the 
dried  soil.  Every  operation  of  nature  which  inures  for 
the  encouragement  of  plant  growth  is  now  actively  at  work 
in  the  soil,  and  the  production  of  plant  food  goes  on  with- 
out hindrance.  The  soil,  solid  and  compact  before,  is  now 
open,  loose,  porous  and  friable;  the  frosts  pulverize  it;  the 
just  sufficient  water  dissolves  it;  the  acids  are  oxidized,  or 
neutralized  by  the  alkaline  solutions  which  ebb  and  flow 
through  it ;  and  the  farmer  no  longer  delayed  when  the  sea- 
sons work  presses  is  able  to  plow  and  plant  in  due  time. 
Every  shower  then  refreshes  and  fertilizes  the  land;  brings 
down  with  it  useful  substances  from  the  atmosphere,  which 
are  absorbed  at  once  by  the  soil,  instead  of  being  wasted 
and  washed  away,  as  they  were  when  the  surface  of  the 
land  was  saturated  and  flooded ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  re- 
news the  air  within  the  soil,  causing  fresh  accessions  of  such 
plant  food  which  the  air  may  supply.  Moreover  this  mode 
of  improvement  of  the  soil  is  equivalent  to  a  considerable 
deepening  of  it,  for  it  opens  it  to  the  plow  and  permits  the 
roots  to  forage  to  a  depth  as  far  down  as  the  drains  are 
placed.  It  thus  enables  the  farmer  to  vary  his  crops  and 
grow  such  kinds  as  he  may  wish  and  which  will  be  most 
profitable  to  him. 

Lastly  the  farmer  who  drains  his  wet  fields,  confers  a 
benefit  upon  the  locality  in  which  he  lives.  The  greatest  pest 
of  the  American  farmer  and  to  his  cattle  as  well,  is  the  ever 
prevailing  miasma  which  rises  from  stagnant  water,  below, 


158  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

as  well  as  above  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  which  is  known 
by  the  common  term  malaria.  This  miserable  disease  which 
makes  the  life  of  the  American  citizen  uncomfortable  and 
wretched  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  is  bred  in  swamps 
and  undrained  lands;  and  when  these  are  improved  and 
freed  from  the  constantly  evaporating  water,  the  pestilence 
is  laid  and  health  is  restored.  The  chilling  dampness  which 
loads  the  air  with  poisonous  gases  no  longer  rises  in  foul  va- 
pors from  the  land;  and  the  air  becomes  pure  and  health- 
ful. The  farmer  thus  confers  a  blessing  upon  his  neigh- 
bors, while  he  improves  his  own  circumstances,  and  thus  af- 
fords a  new  proof  of  the  fact  that  he  who  helps  himself  helps 
the  world,  and  that  no  man  works  for  himself  alone;  much 
less  the  farmer,  whose  vocation  makes  him  the  feeder  and 
clother  of  mankind. 

The  practice  of  irrigation  is  the  converse  of  draining.  It 
consists  in  bringing  water  from  distant  streams  or  other 
sources,  by  means  of  canals  and  ditches,  and  spreading  it 
over  lands  where  the  rainfall  is  not  sufficient  for  the  growth 
of  crops,  or  in  many  cases  where  the  ordinary  climate  pre- 
vails, water  from  adjacent  streams  or  springs  is  brought 
and  spread  over  lower  lands  which  are  laid  down  in  grass 
and  are  kept  in  permanent  meadow.  No  other  country  in 
the  world,  than  ours,  offers  such  a  vast  scope  for  the  im- 
provement of  lards  by  this  means.  Millions  of  acres  of  land 
unsurpassingly  rich  in  all  the  elements  of  plant  growth  want 
only  water  to  make  them  fruitful  and  productive  of  all  the 
varied  farm  crops;  and  by  means  of  this  mode  of  improve- 
ment millions  of  farmers  may  find  homes  and  a  comfortable 
subsistence  and  furnish  great  wealth  to  the  community, 
where  now  desolation  and  solitude  prevail.  At  the  same 
time  many  farmers,  whose  grass  crops  are  cut  offand  whose 
winters  supply  of  hay  is  greatly  reduced  by  drouth  have  an 
abundance  of  water  running  to  waste  upon  their  farms  by 
the  use  ofwhich  the  yield  of  grass  and  hay  might  be  doubled. 
Comparative  poverty  might  thus  be  turned  to  actual  wealth 
by  the  mere  employment  of  water  at  a  little  cost,  which 
now  flows  away  uselessly,  or  perhaps  spreads  out  injurious- 


VALUE   OF   IRRIGATION.  159 

ly  into  a  pestilential  swamp.  Grass  is  the  grand  crop  of 
the  farm.  It  is  the  pivot  of  our  agriculture.  It  supports 
all  our  live  stock  in  one  way  or  another,  and  is  the  very 
basis  of  our  agricultural  prosperity.  No  farmer  ever  yet  had 
too  much  of  it :  and  very  many  are  constantly  mourning 
over  the  scarcity  of  it.  A  large  proportion  of  these  have 
the  power  in  their  own  hands  to  double  the  product  of  it; 
by  merely  conducting  such  streams,  as  may  be  so  carried, 
over  the  land  and  spreading  the  water  upon  the  grass. 
Water-meadows  exist  in  Europe  which  have  been  pro- 
ducing green  forage  and  hay  for  centuries,  without  any  ma- 
nure and  no  labor  except  cutting  the  grass.  The  growth  is 
anormous.  One  inch  per  day  during  the  summer,  or  120 
inches  in  the  aggregate,  has  been  cut  from  the  Rye  Grass 
meadows  of  Italy;  and  in  England  6  tons  of  hay  per  acre 
is  a  common  yearly  product.  The  water  of  the  streams 
comes  loaded  with  fertilizing  matter  which  keeps  the  land 
increasing  in  productiveness  notwithstanding  the  large 
product. 

The  largest  crops  of  grain  and  vegetables  on  record  are 
now  produced  in  Colorado  and  some  Western  Territories, 
where  10  years  ago  not  a  blade  of  grass  grew  and  no  civi- 
lized human  inhabitant  had  a  home.  The  prevailing  sage 
brush  and  cactus  gave  a  somber  and  dreary  view  to  the 
broad  plains,  and  the  wolf  chased  its  prey  among  the  brush, 
where  now  the  self-binding  reaper  sings  its  clattering  songs 
and  scatters  the  golden  sheaves;  and  villages  and  surround- 
ing homesteads  cover  the  land.  All  this  is  the  grand  trans- 
formation worked  by  the  fairy  water;  one  wave  of  the  mag- 
ic wand,  and  the  stream  flows  to  one  side  and  scatters  it- 
self through  thousands  of  channels  amid  the  smiling  ver- 
dure which  has  sprung  up  from  the  arid  barren  soil  at  the 
touch  of  the  creative,  life  giving  fluid.  The  fairy  is  hu- 
man industry  and  enterprise  and  the  magic  wand  is  human 
labor.  In  another  chapter,  this  subject  w411  be  further 
treated,  and  some  few  practical  directions  given,  so  far  as 
space  will  permit,  for  the  practice  of  this  most  profitable 
method  of  improving  soils. 


16*0  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Plowing  and  subsoiling  for  the  improvement  of  lands  is- 
a  practice  which  has  been  but  little  practiced,  and  much 
less  understood  and  appreciated  in  America.  The  practice 
has  been  in  use  for  several  centuries  in  Europe  where  farm 
land  bears  a  higher  value  than  it  has  here.  But  our  cheap 
lands  are  now  nearly  exhausted  and  it  no  longer  pays  to 
make  a  farm,  ruin  it  by  wasteful  culture,  and  then  abandon 
it  to  sterility  and  weeds,  and  seek  a  new  one  which  will  be 
treated  in  the  same  manner.  With  a  rapidly  increasing 
population,  the  division  of  the  land  among  the  citizens  has 
been  nearly  completed  and  the  far  distant  territories  do 
not  offer  sufficient  inducements  for  young  farmers  to  go- 
through  the  wasteful  practices  of  their  parents.  A  few 
years  ago  this  book  would  have  been  a  premature  work; 
but  now  that  the  best  culture  of  farms  and  the  most  profit- 
able culture  of  farm  crops  are  the  only  ways  to  success  in 
gaining  a  comfortable  subsistence.  Every  known  and  possi- 
ble method  of  improving  the  land  and  increasing  its  pro- 
ductiveness, and  every  means  for  study  and  for  acquiring^ 
information  leading  to  these  desirable  ends,  become  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  farmers. 

Hence  practices  and  operations  which  would  not  be 
thought  of  or  undertaken  a  few  years  ago,  now  become  in- 
dispensably necessary,  and  what  has  been  done  in  older 
countries  is  to  be  studied  and  repeated  with  such  improve- 
ments as  better  knowledge  and  larger  experience  may  make 
possible.  Plowing  is  a  most  important  part  of  the  farmers 
art,  but  it  has  been  scarcely  studied  at  all,  and  has  been 
very  imperfectly  practiced  hitherto  by  American  farmers. 
The  plow  has  been  used,  not  for  the  permanent  improve- 
ment of  the  soil,  but  merely  to  loosen  it  sufficiently  to  make 
a  bed  for  the  seed  and  to  cover  up  the  debris  of  the  preced- 
ing crop.  Mechanics  and  inventors  have  spent  much  thought 
and  study  upon  the  perfection  of  plows  and  other  imple- 
ments of  tillage ;  and  no  other  country  has  such  a  diversity 
of  excellent  plows  as  ours;  but  the  farmers  have  certain- 
ly been  neglectful  of  their  opportunities  and  advantages  in 
regard  to  the  use  of  the  plow   in  improving  their  lands. 


IMPORTANCE   OF    GOOD   PLOWIlN^G.  161 

Very  few  farmers  ever  plow  a  field  twice  in  preparation  for 
a  crop  and  it  is  nothing  uncommon  to  see  the  land  a  mass 
of  hard  clods,  which  the  farmer  is  vainly  endeavoring  to 
break  down  by  the  use  of  the  spike  tooth  harrow  or  the  rol- 
ler, into  a  fit  condition  for  the  reception  of  the  seed. 

The  soil  is  quite  as  rarely  ever  plowed  to  a  sufiicient 
depth  and  nothing  is  feared  so  much  by  American  farmers 
as  permitting  the  plow  to  run  an  inch  or  two  more  deeply 
than  usual  or  to  turn  up  "the  yellow  clay"  to  the  surface.. 
All  this  is  an  injury  to  the  soil.  The  passage  of  a  plow 
back  and  forth  over  the  same  bottom  of  a  furrow  for  sever- 
al years  hardens  it  makes  it  tough  and  compact,  and  im- 
permeable to  air  and  water;  and  really  reduces  the  depth 
of  the  soil  from  which  plants  can  procure  their  food  to  the 
few  inches  which  the  shallow  imperfect  plowing  turns  over.. 
Nor  is  the  plowing  even.  The  plowman  is  not  instructed 
in  the  art  of  holding  or  guiding  the  plow,  nor  in  the  neces- 
sity for  keeping  the  furrow  of  even  depth  and  width,  and 
of  avoiding  balks  by  which  the  plow  is  thrown  out  and  a 
portion  of  the  soil  is  left  wholly  unturned.  In  many  parts 
of  the  Southern  States  the  soil  is  not  even  turned,  but  is, 
merely  torn  by  the  common  bull  tongue  which  leaves  the 
soil  only  scratched  in  lines  and  a  large  part  of  it  is  not 
touched.  In  the  great  states  of  Ohio;  Indiana;  Illinois; 
and  others ;  wheat  is  sown  upon  the  corn  stubble  and  simply 
covered  by  a  harrowing  and  this  with  a  most  ineffective 
implement.  The  soil  is  not  turned  and  is  not  pulverized. 
From  what  has  been  said  in  previous  chapters  this  sort  of 
culture  is  seen  to  be  wholly  ineffective  for  its  intended  pur- 
pose, and  is  utterly  useless  as  a  method  for  improving  the 
soil  after  it  has  been  exhausted  and  wasted  by  this  treat- 
ment. 

The  plow  is  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  loose 
and  turning  over  a  portion  of  the  soil,  having  a  cross  sec- 
tion of  5  X  7  inches  up  to  7  to  10  or  more;  depending  upon 
circumstances.  American  plows  are  made  with  shorter  and 
more  curved  mold  boards  so  as  to  break  up  the  furrow  slice, 
by  bending  it  at  a  short  and  sharp  angle  and  are   exceed  ~ 


162  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

ingly  effective  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  ground. 
But  for  the  improvement  of  the  land  and  for  increasing  its 
fertility  one  plowing  alone  is  quite  insufficient.  The  soil 
should  be  broken  up  and  pulverized  thoroughly  all  over 
the  field,  and  the  sub-surface  over  which  the  horses  have 
trodden  and  which  the  sole  of  the  plow  has  rubbed  and 
hardened  and  made  solid  and  impermeable,  should  be 
broken  up  and  opened  to  the  admission  of  water  and  air. 
Several  plowings  should  be  given.  A  wheat  crop  should 
never  be  put  in  without  at  least  two  plowings  and  the  land 
for  a  corn  crop  should  be  thoroughly  well  and  deeply 
plowed  in  the  fall.  Plowing  at  this  season  for  a  spring 
crop  is  a  most  effective  way  of  improving  the  land.  The 
land  roughly  thrown  up  in  ridges  is  left  with  as  much  sur- 
face as  possible  exposed  to  the  frost,  that  the  soil  may  be 
pulverized  and  made  fine  and  mellow.  A  winters  expo- 
sure in  this  way  will  liberate  much  mineral  plant  food  by 
disintegrating  the  soil  and  bringing  it  in  larger  part  into  a 
soluble  condition.  The  newer  soil  brought  up  by  the  fall 
plowing  is  thus  brought  under  the  free  action  of  the  atmos- 
phere, and  aided  by  the  effects  of  the  frost,  this  develops 
the  plant  food  in  it  and  makes  it  available  for  the  crops.  A 
consideration  of  the  principles  discussed  in  previous  chap- 
ters which  relate  to  the  relation  of  the  atmosphere,  water, 
and  heat  and  cold,  to  the  soil;  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
precise  purposes  for  which  the  plow  is  intended ;  will  en- 
able any  thoughtful  farmer  to  work  out  the  requisite 
methods  for  improving  his  land  by  plowing,  for  himself 

Subsoil  plowing,  has  been  a  bugbear  to  many  farmers  be- 
cause the  practice  of  it  has  been  mistaken.  It  is  commonly 
supposed  that  this  term,  means  the  use  of  one  jdIow  behind 
another  in  the  same  furrow,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  up 
8  or  10  inches  more  soil  on  the  top  of  the  first  turned  over. 
This  is  not  intended  and  would  result  in  a  permanent  injury 
to  the  land.  All  that  the  subsoil-plow  should  do,  is  to  fol- 
low the  first  plow  and  break  up  the  sub-surface  and  the 
hard  crust  left  by  previous  surface  plowings.  This  hard 
crust  seals  the  lower  soil  against  the  entrance  of  air  and 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  ROOTS  OF  PLANTS.       163 

^vater,  and  oifers  an  obstacle  to  the  deeper  penetration  of 
the  roots  of  crops. 

The  presence  of  oxygen  is  indispensable  in  the  soil  wher- 
ever the  roots  of  plants  may  go.  It  is — or  should  be — obvious 
to  the  intelligent  reader  that  the  more  of  the  soil  that  can 
be  occupied  by  the  roots  of  a  crop,  the  better  for  the  crop, 
for  it  extends  the  feeding  grovmd.  It  is  something  like 
opening  aseccid  field,  by  removing  a  fence,  andthrowingit 
open  to  a  herd  of  cows  or  a  flock  of  sheep.  It  increases  the 
food  supply  proportionately,  and  as  plant  food  is  always  be- 
ing carried  down  into  the  lower  soil  by  the  water,  the  far- 
mers desire  should  be  to  give  the  roots  of  his  crops  the  ut- 
most facility  for  extending  themselves  in  their  search  for 
food.  Roots  are  very  enterprising  in  this  way,  and  farmers 
€annot  do  better  than  take  a  lesson  from  the  instincts  of  the 
plants  which  they  cultivate.  Wheat,  which  is  considered 
a  shallow  rooted  plant,  has  been  known  to  send  its  roots 
down  8  feet  into  the  subsoil.  The  author  has  traced  the 
roots  of  corn  in  a  deep  washout  nearly  10  feet  from  the  sur- 
face; clover  sends  its  roots  down  10  or  12  feet;  lucern — a 
most  eager  feeder  and  consequently  exceedingly  productive 
— has  been  known  to  extend  its  roots  18  feet  down  into  the 
subsoil.  Common  grass  roots  often  go  down  3  or  4  feet  in  the 
soil  where  inducements  in  the  shape  of  available  food  are 
given.  No  doubt  these  are  exceptional  cases,  but  they 
show  what  plants  will  do  in  their  search  for  food,  and  in 
every  case  these  deep  rooted  plants  are  the  most  vigorous  in 
growth,  proving  that  their  purpose  in  sending  down  their 
roots  was  successful.  Where  these  roots  went  there  were 
air,  and  oxygen,  and  carbonic  acid  with  it;  and  had  not 
the  soil  been  porous  and  accessible  to  these  nutritious  gases 
the  roots  could  not  have  penetrated  into  it.  It  is  not  nec- 
essary to  break  up  the  soil  to  this  depth ;  all  that  is  needed 
is  to  break  up  the  crust  under  the  surface,  by  running  the 
subsoil  plow  a  sufficient  depth  under  the  first  furrow,  to  let 
in  the  air  and  open  a  way  for  the  rains  to  enter  freely,  and 
to  permit  both  air  and  water  to  pass  and  repass,  under  the 
influences  of  heat,  and  expansion  and  contraction,  with  the 


164  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CR0P8. 

most  perfect  freedom. 

Deep  Hurfuco  i)l()wing  should  bo  done  gradually.  It  is 
not  wiHo  to  brin^  u])  a  Hubsoil  until  the  air  has  had  time  to 
act  upon  it.  All  Hoil»,  na  we  have  seen,  contain  Hulj)huric 
acid  and  iron,  and  the  combination  of  th(«e  substances  form 
a  most  noxious  substance  viz,  sulphate;  of  iron  or  copperas. 
This  is  frecjuently  found  in  subsoils  to  which  air  has  not 
penetrated  and  when  the  roots  of  plants  touch  it,  the  crop 
sickens,  turns  yellow  and  perishes.  By  the  admission  of 
air,  with  its  oxygen,  this  noxious  compound  is  decomposed; 
the  sulphuric  acid  is  divorced  from  the  iron,  and  is  set  frc< 
to  be  apj)r()])riated  by  the  croi)s  in  other  and  useful  forms, 
and  the  iron  unites  with  tlui  oxygen  forming  a  ustd'ul  sub- 
tatance — oxide  of  iron —  which  enters  to  a  small  extent  into 
all  vegetable  growth.  For  this  and  other  reasons  of  like 
import  the  sul)soil  should  be  broken  up  by  the  subsoil  plow; 
but  the  subsoil  should  be  brought  to  the  surface  only  as  it 
has  been  acted  upon  by  the  atmosphere  and  by  the  numurc. 
A  soil  may  be  ])lowed  as  deeply  as  it  is  occu])ied  by  ])lani 
food  and  n(!w  soil  may  be  gradually  mixed  with  this  by 
gradual  deeper  j)l()wing.  An  incji  a  year,  brought  up  in 
the  fall,  and  left  to  the  influences  of  the  air  and  weather 
and  then  mixed  with  the  oth(>r  soil  on  th(»  surface,  ?nay  be 
safely  and  usefully  added  to  the  depth  of  the  cultivated 
soil,  until  8  or  10  inches  has  been  enriched  and  fitted  for 
the  aliment  of  plants. 

A  farnu^r  intent  upon  the  improvement  of  his  soil  should 
not  rest  until  he  can  safely  plow  the  land  to  this  de])th.  A 
table  previously  given  shows  how  much  fertilizing  nmttei- 
may  be  contained  in  1)  in(rhes  of  arable  soil  over  an  acre. 
When  the  soil  has  been  brought  into  this  condition  by  me- 
chanical means,  then  the  farmer  nuiy  use  all  nu^thods  for 
making  this  vast  store  of  plant  food  available.  What  might 
be  the  maxinuim  yield  of  crops  has  never  y(!t  been  ascer- 
tained. 240  bushels  of  grain  corn  per  acre  have  been  pro- 
duced: the  author  has  grown  125  bushels  per  acre,  and  99  A 
bush(»ls  ])er  acre  over  a  whole  field,  more  than  once;  and  80 
bushels  frequently.     G  tons   of  timothy  hay  per  acre    has 


THE   MAXIMUM    PRODUCT   OF   THE   SOIL.  165 

been  gathered  at  one  mowing:  80  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  has  been  produced  and  more  has  been  claimed:  65 
bushels  per  acre  has  been  commonly  grown  by  the  best 
English  farmers  in  good  seasons.  125  bushels  of  oats  and 
80  of  barley  have  been  produced  on  favorable  soils.  1329 
bushels  of  potatoes  have  been  made  per  acre  by  one  farmer 
by  ordinary  methods  of  culture  :  600  bushels  is  a  common 
yield  in  the  rich  potash  and  lime  soils  of  the  Southern 
mountain  region.  75  bushels  of  buckwheat  per  acre  has 
been  grown  by  the  Author,  80  tons  of  mangels  ihas 
been  produced  in  England  and  1200  bushels  per  acre  of 
this  root  have  been  grown  as  an  ordinary  crop.  These  are 
not  to  be  supposed  to  be  unsurpassable.  No  one  knows  what 
a  fully  fertilized  soil  may  produce  under  every  favoring  cir- 
cumstance, but  it  is  the  business  of  the  farmer  to  provide 
everything  in  the  soil  for  as  large  a  product  as  may  be  pos- 
sible and  then  to  accept  what  a  kind  and  favoring  Provi- 
■dence — ever  ready  to  recompense  honest  effort,  and  sustain 
the  industrious  energetic  faithful  and  conscientious  worker 
— may  enable  him  to  secure.  It  is  very  certain  that  he  who 
does  not  sow,  will  not  reap,  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  he 
who  sows  with  pains  will  reap  joyfully. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  extend  these  considerations  to 
a  greater  length  than  to  merely  mention  a  few  other  me- 
chanical methods  of  improving  the  soil.  The  principles  in- 
volved have  been  perhaps — and  as  we  hope — made  suffi- 
ciently clear.  Heavy  clay  soils  have  been  greatly  bettered 
by  a  mixture  of  fine  sand  and  gravel.  As  has  been  ex- 
plained the  presence  of  silica  in  the  soil  exerts  a  beneficial 
effect  upon  all  crops,  but  especially  upon  the  grains.  This 
process  is  not  so  costly  as  it  may  seem.  Where  a  supply  of 
sand  is  conveniently  situated  160  loads  per  acre  or  one  to 
the  square  rod  is  spread  in  the  winter  on  the  fall  plowed 
land,  left  in  ridges  and  as  rough  as  possible  to  get  an  even 
mixture.  This  may  be  done  for  $40  per  acre  if  the  work  is 
hired;  but  if  in  the  season  of  leisure,  the  farmer  and  his 
workmen  undertake  it,  the  work  may  be  done  at  a  nomi- 
nal cost.     Where  10  acres  are  to  be  sanded,  it  will  greatly 


166  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

lessen  the  cost  to  lay  a  portable  track  of  2  x  4  timbers  and 
run  a  self  dumping  truck  upon  these  rails.  In  this  way 
farms  have  been  sanded  in  Germany  at  a  cost  of  $10  per 
acre  and  the  outlay  has  been  returned  the  first  year  by  the 
increased  crop.  The  land  is  plowed  and  cross  plowed  in 
the  spring  by  which  the  sand  becomes  evenly  mixed  with 
the  clay ;  the  texture  of  which  is  very  much  improved. 

Sandy  soils  are  equally  improved  by  the  admixture  of 
decayed  swamp  muck.  As  this  class  of  soils  are  usually 
well  adapted  for  special  cultures  for  which  the  addition  of 
clay  would  partially  unfit  them,  this  operation  is  not  recom- 
mended unless  in  special  cases;  but  100  or  200  loads  per 
acre  of  peat  composted  with  lime  has  been  known  to  entire- 
ly change  the  appearance  of  the  soil  and  to  largely  increase 
its  productiveness.  As  100  tons  of  good  peat  free  from 
sand  or  clay  will  contain  2000  to  4000  lbs.  of  nitrogen,  this 
with  the  addition  of  lime  in  the  porous  soil,  freely  entered 
and  occupied  by  the  air,  will  enable  the  process  of  nitrifi- 
cation to  go  on  with  great  rapidity,  enriching  the  soil  with 
nitrates  to  a  large  extent,  and  thus  ensuring  a  great  im- 
provement in  the  fertility  of  it.  Perhaps — draining  except- 
ed— there  is  no  mode  of  mechanically  improving  soils  that 
is  so  effective  in  increasing  their  value  and  j)roductiveness 
as  this. 

The  addition  of  lime  to  peaty  or  heavy  clay  soils  has  the 
effect  of  removing  most  of  the  objections  to  them;  but  unless 
it  is  previously  drained  the  labor  is  thrown  away  and  inef- 
fective. Lime  fits  peaty  soils  for  growing  grain,  but  is 
greatly  aided  by  a  mixture  of  sand.  A  limed  swamp 
meadow  at  once  changes  its  product  of  grass,  and  if  seed  is 
sown,  the  better  kinds  of  grass  thrive  excellently.  The 
lime  loosens  and  mellows  heavy  clay,  and  makes  it  less  re- 
tentive of  water  and  productive  of  better  grain.  This  how- 
ever will  be  more  fully  treated  of  when  the  use  of  lime  as  a 
fertilizer  is  taken  up  in  a  future  chapter. 


THE   PRINCIPLES   OF    DRAINAGE. 


CHAPTER  XXIII.  ^. 

HOW  TO  DRAIN  LAND. 

The  manner  of  draining  land  necessarily  depends  upon 
several  conditions  such  as  the  character  of  the  soil;  the 
amount  of  water;  the  manner  in  which  the  water  exists  in 
the  soil  or  in  which  it  arrives  there,  the  kind  of  materials 
at  hand ;  the  outlet  for  the  water  and  others  which  may 
present  themselves  in  any  particular  case.  A  few  general 
principles  however  will  enable  the  farmer  to  adapt  his 
methods  to  his  circumstances  without  difficulty. 

The  soil. — Whenever,  in  early  spring,  the  water  appears 
on  the  surface,  or  in  the  furrow  after  the  plow,  or  remains 
upon  the  surface  after  rain  and  interferes  with  the  cultiva- 
tion, the  land  requires  drainage.  It  may  be  that  the  water  can 
be  carried  off  by  open  surface  ditches;  or  that  the  sources 
of  the  water  may  be  tapped  by  a  few  converging  drains 
meeting  in  one  main  ditch  by  which  the  whole  of  the  water 
may  be  carried  off  from  the  land.  It  may  be  on  the  other 
hand  that  the  subsoil  is  full  of  springs  which  are  supplied 
from  distant  sources  and  that  in  this  case  deep  drains  are 
necessary  to  cut  off  the  water  and  carry  it  away.  Or  the 
soil  may  be  of  stiff  impervious  clay  under  the  surface,  or  an 
impermeable  hardpan  prevents  the  surface  water  from  pas- 
sing down  and  making  its  way  from  the  land.  All  this 
must  be  studied  and  known  before  any  work  is  done,  lest  a 
costly  job  of  draining  may  be  done  unnecessarily  or  without 
useful  effect.  To  learn  this,  it  is  proper  that  the  subsoil 
should  be  examined  by  digging  with  the  spade  3  or  4  feet 
deep. 

Springs,  frequently  fill  a  large  area  of  low  land  with 
water,  which  flows  under  the  surface  and  immediately  upon 
a  hard  bed  of  clay  or  gravel  hardpan.  To  understand 
clearly  how  this  occurs,  it  may  be  well  to  explain  the  na- 
ture and  action  of  springs. 


168  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Water  being  a  fluid  seeks  its  level  under  all  circumstances, 
being  forced  to  this  level  by  its  gravity  or  weight,  and  the 
extreme  mobility  of  its  particles  among  each  other.  It  is 
clearly  evident  from  common  experience  that  water  cannot 
be  heaped  up  as  sand  or  earth  may  be ;  nor  can  hollows  ex- 
ist in  the  surface  of  a  body  of  it.  If  a  barrel  of  it  is  set 
upon  high  ground  and  the  contents  are  let  out  they  will 
flow  readily  to  any  lower  level;  but  the  water  cannot  be 
made  to  flow  up  again  of  its  own  motion  or  gravity  or 
weight. 

Now,  when  water  falls  in  the  form  of  rain  upon  high 
ground  which  is  underlaid  by  clay  or  hardpan,  it  sinks 
down  to  this  impervious  stratum,  and  not  being  able  to  pass 
through  it,  it  flows  along  its  surface  down  to  lower  levels, 
until,  gathering  there  in  excessive  quantities,  or  being  arrest- 
ed in  its  flow  by  some  obstacle,  it  makes  its  escape  to  the 
surface  by  some  easy  way;  through  a  bed  of  sand  or  gravel 
in  the  form  of  springs ;  or  it  spreads  through  this  open  and 
permeable  soil  and  forms  swamps  or  fills  the  soil  with  stag- 
nant water  at  certain  depths,  less  or  greater  as  the  case  may 
be.  When  one  digs  down  through  the  surface  to  this  under 
current  of  flowing  water  and  taps  it,  the  water  rises  and 
makes  a  well,  in  which  it  maintains  a  height  equal  to  the 
level  of  its  source  or  nearly  so.  Thus  a  well  is  an  artificial 
spring  under  these  circumstances,  but  when  the  water  flows 
into  the  well  from  the  surrounding  soil  and  does  not  rise 
from  the  bottom  it  is  not  a  spring  well  but  simply  a  cistern 
which  is  supplied  from  above  by  ordinary  drainage. 

Remembering  this  fact,  it  is  easily  seen  that  when  low 
land  is  saturated  with  water  which  comes  from  a  higher 
level  it  may  be  eflectually  drained  by  cutting  a  ditch  to  in- 
tercept it  at  the  foot  of  the  slope ;  and  by  carryhig  oH'  this 
water  to  a  convenient  outlet  the  whole  of  the  lower  land 
may  be  freed  from  it  in  a  very  easy  and  economical  manner. 

Ditches,  required  for  drains  should  be  3  feet  deep;  but 
under  certain  circumstances  this  depth  may  be  less  or  more. 
It  has  been  already  explained  that  soil  has  the  property  of 
capillary  attraction  by  which  water  is  raised  above  its  level 


HOW   DRAINS   SHOULD   BE   MADE*  169 

in  and  among  the  spaces  or  interstices  between  the  finer  par- 
ticles of  the  soil.  This  necessarily  has  a  close  connection 
with  the  depth  of  the  drains ;  and  in  this  manner. 

If  the  level  of  the  stagnant  water,  or  the  under  current 
which  flows  from  higher  land,  be,  1,  2,  3  or  4/feet  below 
the  surface  and  the  drains  are  made  at  either  of  these  depths, 
it  will  be  clear  that  the  water  will  flow  in  the  drains;  but 
that  if  the  drains  are  20,  30,  40,  or  100  feet  apart,  the  cap^ 
illary  attraction  of  the  soil  will  cause  the  water  to  rise  at 
the  center  line  between  the  drains,  to  certain  heights,  vary- 
ing with  the  distance  between  the  drains.  Thus  if  the 
drains  are  20  feet  apart  the  tendency  of  the  water  to  seek  its 
level  and  flow  into  the  drains  will  overcome  the  capillary 
attraction  and  the  tendency  of  the  water  to  rise  in  the  soil, 
to  a  greater  extent  than  if  the  drains  were  30,  40,  50  or  100 
feet  apart.  Therefore  the  distance  between  the  drains  must 
be  regulated  by  this  property  of  the  soil,  the  quantity  of 
water  which  exists  in  the  soil,  and  the  character  of  the  land 
in  regard  to  its  absorbent  power  and  its  ability  to  retain  the 
water  in  its  pores.  In  clay  land  or  in  peaty  soil  the  drains 
would  need  to  be  closer  than  in  open  gravel  or  sandy  loam 
soils,  which  are  underlaid  by  clay  or  hard  pan;  and  neces- 
sarily they  should  be  made  deep  enough  to  reach  .and  pass 
through  this  impervious  Avater  bed. 

Upon  these  principles  it  is  not  difficult  to  decide  upon 
the  depth  of  the  drains  and  the  distance  between  them  to 
make  them  most  effective. 

Open  ditches  should  be  made  not  less  than  4  feet  wide  for 
3  teet  in  depth,  or  3  feet  for  2  feet  in  depth ;  and  if  the  sur- 
face soil  is  open  and  porous  and  the  water  rises  from  the 
subsoil,  a  depth  of  2 ^  or  3  feet  will  be  sufficient.  As  a  rule, 
the  water  flows  into  the  drains  from  the  bottom;  the  press- 
ure of  the  surface  water,  tending  to  force  its  way  down- 
wards, causing  the  water  to  rise  in  the  drains  just  as  it  does 
in  the  case  of  a  spring  or  a  well;  as  has  been  explained 
^•^.bove. 

Ditches  for  covered  drains  need  be  made  no  wider  than 
is  required  for  the  convenience  of  working  in  them  and  the 


170      ■     THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

depth  may  be  from  2j  to  3  feet;  and  very  rarely  more;  as 
the  case  may  require.  18  inches  at  the  surface  gives  ample 
room  for  working  in  such  a  ditch;  and  6  inches  is  sufficient 
for  the  width  at  the  bottom.  In  estimating  the  cost  of  dig- 
ging these  ditches,  the  question  should  be  considered,  if  4 
feet  ditches  at  100  feet  apart  would  not  be  cheaper  than  3 
feet  ditches  60  feet  apart :  the  cost  would  be  less  certainly, 
for  the  labor  of  excavating  6  ditches  4  feet  deep  would  be 
less  than  making  10  ditches  3  feet  deep  and  the  ground 
covered  would  be  the  same  in  either  case. 

The  materials,  for  making  the  drains  in  covered  ditches 
are  tiles,  stones,  gravel  and  wood;  and  each  has  its  good  and 
bad  points. 

Tiles  are  pipes  made  of  clay  burned  like  brick  in  kilns. 
They  are  made  of  various  diameters  from  one  inch  for  the 
short  lateral  drains  up  to  6  or  8  inches  for  the  main  and 
outlet  drains;  and  are  about  15  inches  long.  They  make 
the  best  and  most  lasting  drain,  when  well  made  and  laid 
with  accuracy.  They  should  be  hard  burned  so  as  to  ring 
when  struck;  free  from  flaws;  straight,  and  smooth  at  the 
ends,  so  that  they  will  make  close  joints  and  exclude  sand 
or  sediment  which  might  choke  them.  The  ditches  should 
be  finished  to.  an  even  grade  with  a  narrow  scoop  made  for 
the  purpose,  which  digs  out  a  hollow  the  exact  size  of  the 
tile  and  thus  provides  a  bed  for  them  in  which  they  lie  easi- 
ly and  in  a  line,  and  may  be  placed  quickly.  To  lay  the 
tile  the  workman  stands  on  the  bank  of  the  ditch  (all  the 
earth  is  thrown  out  on  one  side  only,  to  give  room  for  this 
work)  and  picks  up  each  tile  with  a  rod  provided  with  a 
straight  projecting  arm  at  the  end,  which  is  put  into  the  tile; 
and  lifting  it  into  the  ditch  the  workman  places  it  in  the 
hollow  in  line  with  the  one  before  it,  taking  care  that  the 
joint  is  made  close.  The  ditch  should  be  wholly  finished 
before  the  tiles  are  laid,  and  the  work  is  begun  at  the  upjier 
part  so  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  anything  being 
washed  into  the  drains  by  the  flowing  water. 

By  making  the  drains  in  this  way  there  is  no  risk  of 
making  any  mistake  in  any  way,  either  in  the  grade  or  in 


MATERIALS   FOR   DRAINS.  171 

laying  the  tiles.  As  the  tiles  are  laid  they  are  covered 
with  sufficient  earth  to  protect  them  from  injury  by  any 
accident,  and  the  filling  in  of  the  ditches  may  be  finished 
after   the  tiles   are  all  laid. 

One  inch  tiles  are  sufficiently  large  for  the  lateral  drains, 
unless  these  are  longer  than, 500  or  600  feet,  when  the  low- 
er part  should  be  1  ^  inch.  Drain  tiles  carry  4  times  as 
much  water  for  twice  the  diameter;  (increasing  in  capacity 
as  the  square  of  the  diameter,  or  the  diameter  multiplied 
by  itself.)  Thus  a  2  inch  tile  carries  as  much  water  as  4  one 
inch  tiles;  9  times  as  much  for  3  times  the  diameter;  16 
times  as  much  for  4  times  the  diameter  and  so  on,  thus  in- 
creasing as  the  square  of  the  diameter.  -If  16  one  inch  tiles 
are  discharging  to  their  full  capacity,  a  4  inch  tile  will 
take  all  the  water ;  but  as  an  excess  of  water  stops  the  flow 
and  backs  up  the  water,  and  favors  the  deposit  of  sediment, 
it  is  advisable  to  have  the  main  and  outlet  pipes  larger  than 
is  absolutely  necessary  so  as  to  secure  as  rapid  a  discharge 
of  the  water  as  possible. 

Stones  make  an  excellent  and  permanent  drain  when 
well  laid.  A  clear  channel  is  made  by  placing  long  nar- 
row stones  along  each  side  of  the  ditch  and  covering  these 
with  flat  ones  placed  crosswise.  These  are  covered  with 
round  stones  packed  closely,  and  these  again  with  small 
and  flat  stone  over  which  earth  is  thrown.  This  method 
is  economical  when  the  land  is  stony,  and  gets  rid  of  stone 
cheaply  and  permanently. 

Gravel,  may  be  used  for  making  drains  where  it  is 
abundant  and  near  at  hand.  The  drains  in  this  case  are 
made  6  inches  wide  at  the  bottom  and  are  filled  in  with 
clean  gravel  18  inches  deep;  over  this  the  earth  is  filled  in. 
The  gravel  should  be  clean  and  free  from  clay  or  sand 
which  would  be  washed  into  the  bottom  of  the  drains  and 
choke  the  flow  of  water. 

Wooden  pipes  may  be  used  in  draining  marshes  and  quick- 
sand bottoms,  with  good  efi^ect.  These  are  best  made  of 
hemlock  boards — which  are  the  most  durable  under  water 
— 6  inches  wide,  and  nailed  together  in  the  shape  of  a  V  ; 


172  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  top  being  made  of  strips  nailed  across,  so  as  to  form 
many  crevices  for  the  entrance  of  the  water.  By  extend- 
ing the  end  of  one  board  a  foot  past  the  end  of  the  other 
the  laps  in  the  drain  may  be  joined  firmly.  These  drains 
are  placed  with  the  narrow  part  down,  by  which  the  flow 
is  made  more  rapid  and  the  deposit  of  sediment  in  avoided. 

The  outlets  of  the  drains  should  be  amply  large  to  avoid 
back  water  and  should  discharge  if  possible  above  the  level 
of  any  high  water.  If  in  time  of  freshets  or  floods  water  is 
backed  up  into  the  drains,  or  there  is  any  danger  of  it  when 
making  the  outlets,  it  is  advisable  to  fit  a  gate  to  the  outlet, 
so  that  when  the  water  rises  it  may  be  closed  against  the 
entrance  of  sand  or  mud,  and  opened  when  the  water  has 
subsided,  so  that  the  discharge  may  be  rapid  and  carry  off* 
any  sediment  that  may  have  settled  in  the  drains. 

In  plowing  drained  lands,  the  open  furrows  should  never 
be  made  over  drains,  lest  the  water  lying  in  them  should 
find  its  way  down  and  make  a  channel  through  the  soil  by 
which  sand  or  mud  may  be  carried  into  the  drain.  The 
location  of  every  drain  should  be  marked  by  permanent 
stakes  or  posts  in  the  fencee  so  that  it  can  be  reached  when 
desired  without  difficulty. 


IRRIGATION. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

IRRIGATION  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Xo  other  country  in  the  world  offers  so  wide  a  scope,  and 
such  enormous  opportunities,  for  the  application  of  irriga- 
tion to  the  profitable  culture  of  farm  crops,  as  the  United 
States.  A  grand  chain  of  mountains,  in  which  are  the 
sources  of  several  of  the  largest  rivers  in  the  world,  presents 
a  watershed  of  enormous  proportions,  which  supplies  a  myr- 
iad of  streams  whose  w^aters  flow  down  into  dry  plains,  de- 
prived of  rain  by  the  interception  of  the  mountains.  The 
summer  rainfall  and  winter  snows  which  fall  upon  the  moun- 
tains, are  thus  carried  down  into  the  arid  plains,  where  a 
wealth  of  the  richest  soil  lies  uselessly,  for  want  of  rain.. 
When  the  streams  which  thus  flow  down,  are  turned  from 
their  natural  channels  into  canals  provided  for  the  purpose, 
and  the  water  is  carried  over  the  land  in  irrigating  ditches,, 
the  soil  yields  the  finest  crops  with  the  greatest  ease.  No 
adverse  weather  interferes  with  the  labor  of  the  husband- 
man. The  unclouded  sun,  beams  down  upon  the  verdant 
fields,  and  ripens  the  crops,  invigorated  to  most  abundant 
fruitfulness,  by  the  constant  and  ample  supply  of  water  thus^ 
provided. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  these  arid  cUmates  that  irrigation 
becomes  a  most  valuable  aid  to  the  farmer  in  the  culture  of 
his  crops.  Wherever  streams  can  be  turned  to  this  use,  and 
their  waters  poured  out  upon  lower  ground,  the  grass  crop 
may  be  doubled  or  trebled;  and  what  is  of  more  account, 
may  be  made  safe  against  all  the  adverse  contingencies  of 
weather.  The  common  and  necessary  rotation  of  crops  in 
ordinary  farming  may  be  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  gen- 
eral use  of  irrigation,  but  for  permanent  meadows  it  will  be 
found  invaluable  and  exceedingly  profitable.  There  are 
thousands  of  opportunities  for  making  these  meadows,  along 


174  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  river  bottoms  which  are  periodically  overflowed,  but 
which  are  torn  up  and  washed  by  the  floods  instead  of  being 
fed  and  enriched. 

The  mode  of  procedure  is  as  follows.  A  dam  is  made 
across  the  stream  in  the  most  convenient  situation,  and  the 
water  is  carried  out  on  one  side  in  a  ditch,  as  if  for  the  pur- 
pose of  running  a  mill.  When  the  ditch  attains  a  suflicient 
elevation  to  cover  the  desired  space  of  ground,  the  water  is 
let  out  through  gates  and  small  channels  on  to  the  land. 
The  land  is  previously  leveled  and  made  smooth  by  repeated 
plowing  and  scraping,  until  an  even  surface  has  been  formed. 
It  is  then  sown  with  the  kinds  of  grasses  best  suited  to  this 
mode  of  cultivation;  but  any  of  the  best  varieties,  as  timo- 
thy; perennial  rye  grass;  orchard  grass;  meadow  fescue;  red 
top;  meadow  oat  grass;  fowl  meadow  grass;  may  be  grown 
under  this  system.  As  the  land  will  slope  a  little  towards 
the  river  bank,  the  space  betw^een  this  and  the  ditch  wdll  be 
best  laid  out  into  broad  terraces,  enclosed  with  low  dams, 
by  which  the  water  is  retained  over  the  smooth  level  sur- 
face at  a  depth  of  3  inches,  or  thereabouts,  in  each  division, 
whenever  the  grass  needs  the  water.  This  may  be  weekly, 
in  the  growing  season,  and  the  water  may  be  turned  on  for 
one  night  in  every  w^ek,  to  soak  the  ground  thoroughly,  and 
prevent  it  from  drying  so  as  to  stop  the  growth  of  the  grass. 
There  ^s  no  danger  of  injury  to  the  ground,  because  the 
gates  are  made  to  discharge  into  ditches  which  gradually 
overflow  until  the  whole  surface  is  covered.  When  this  is 
effected,  the  surplus  w^ater  flows  off"  through  gates  on  the 
border  of  the  river;  and  through  the  lower  dam  or  bank. 
Thus  a  continuous  sheet  of  water  is  left  flowing  over,  or 
through  the  grass,  carrying  the  most  luxuriant  vigor  to  the 
crop,  and  stimulating  the  growth  enormously.  The  more 
water  that  passes  over  the  grass,  the  more  of  the  most  val- 
uable plant  food  is  brought  within  reach  of  the  roots.  Ev- 
ery blade  of  grass  acts  as  a  filter  which  retains  matter  that 
may  be  in  solution,  or  is  carried  in  suspension  in  the  water 
which  slowly  passes  over  the  ground.  Any  solid  matter  that 
jnay  be  carried  in  the  water  is  thus  deposited  on  the  land, 


MANAGEMENT   OF    IRRIGATED   MEADOWS.  175 

and  adds  a  large  amount  of  the  most  valuable  elements  of 
fertility  to  it.  Thus  the  meadows  need  no  manuring  ex- 
cepting at  rare  intervals,  to  restore  the  exhaustive  drafts 
upon  the  soil  made  by  the  enormous  crops  that  are  grown 
in  this  manner.  80  tons  of  green  grass,  equal  to  20  tons  of 
hay  per  acre,  have  been  produced  annually  upon  irrigated 
meadows  in  England,  for  more  than  a  century;  and  no 
manure,  more  than  that  brought  down  in  the  water,  has  ev- 
er been  applied  to  the  land.  This  process  of  irrigation  may 
be  used  in  both  summer  and  winter,  where  the  climate  per- 
mits of  it.  All  through  the  southern  states,  and  the  lower 
middle  states,  winter  irrigation  will  not  only  feed  the  grass, 
but  protect  it;  and  the  water  may  be  kept  on  the  land — but 
always  in  motion — during  the  greater  part  of  the  winter,  or 
from  December  to  March,  with  benefit  to  the  grass.  Where 
the  winters  are  cold  enough  to  form  ice,  and  the  water  can 
be  raised  to  a  sufficient  height,  it  may  be  permitted  to  flow 
under  the  covering  of  ice;  thus  avoiding  the  injuries  which 
result  from  alternate  freezing  and  thawing  during  the  cold 
season. 

In  the  spring,  when  cold  nights  follow  warm  days,  and 
frost  occurs,  the  water  is  let  on  to  the  grass  as  a  protection 
to  it,  lest  the  tender,  succulent,  growth  produced  by  the  wa- 
tering may  be  injured.  When  the  weather  is  dry,  it  is  ad- 
visable to  flow  the  water  over  the  grass  every  night,  and  so 
keep  the  growth  unchecked  even  in  the  hottest  and  dryest 
weather. 

Meadows  of  this  kind  are  not  suitable  for  pasturing,  but 
are  kept  only  for  hay,  or  for  cutting  for  soiling  cattle  on  the 
green  fodder. 

Where  the  supply  of  water  is  insufficient  for  full  irriga- 
tion, it  may  be  gathered  into  reservoirs  during  six  days  of 
the  week,  and  the  whole  used  on  the  seventh  day.  Or  the 
land  may  be  divided  into  sections,  and  the  water  which  has 
been  turned  on  to  one  may  be  let  on  to  the  next  one  the 
next  day,  and  so  on,  until  it  has  been  all  absorbed.  Where 
springs  only  can  be  thus  utilized,  and  the  supply  of  water  is 
small,  a  reservoir  may  be  constructed  to  gather  the  water;  and 


176  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

when  it  is  full,  the  water  may  be  discharged  by  an  auto- 
matic arrangement  (such  as  is  described  in  the  Authors  work 
on  Irrigation  for  the  Farm,  Garden,  and  Orchard;  in  which 
the  full  details  of  the  preparation  of  the  land  and  all  ap- 
pliances for  the  use  of  the  water  in  the  culture  of  all  kinds- 
of  crops,  are  given). 

In  many  cases,  the  water  of  springs  rising  on  high  ground 
may  be  used  for  partial  irrigation  of  grass  lands,  by  con- 
veying it  in  furrows  back  and  forth  down  the  slope,  at  such 
an  inclination  as  will  cause  a  sufficient  flow.  In  this  method 
a  furrow  is  turned  down  the  slope  so  as  to  form  a  channel 
for  the  flow  of  water.  Here  and  there  the  furrow  slice  is- 
cut  through,  and  the  water  is  permitted  to  escape  down  the 
slope.  By  stopping  these  openings  with  sods,  the  flow  i& 
stopped,  and  turned  through  others  on  to  fresh  ground. 
This  simple  method  of  irrigation  may  be  made  available  on 
many  farms,  where  now  the  water  escaping  uncontrolled,  is 
a  source  of  injury  to  the  land. 

In  other  cases,  a  number  of  springs,  the  waters  from  which 
formed  previously  a  useless  swamp,  have  been  connected  by 
ditches,  and  the  gathered  water  conveyed  on  to  lower  land 
for  watering  the  grass.  Thus  a  serious  and  injurious  evil 
has  been  turned  to  a  double  benefit,  by  reclaiming,  upon 
one  hand,  a  useless  marsh,  and  greatly  increasing  the  pro- 
duct of  land  which  formerly  suflered  by  want  of  sufficient 
water.  All  these  different  points  should  be  studied  by  the 
farmer,  who  may  be  on  the  alert  to  turn  every  opportunity 
which  comes  to  him,  to  his  own  advantage. 

But  there  are  other  methods  which  may  be  turned  to 
profitable  uses  under  circumstances  which  at  first  sight 
might  seem  to  be  unavailable.  The  water  may  be  raised 
by  mechanical  means,  from  rivers  on  to  lands  upon  a  high- 
er level.  Several  cases  have  come  to  the  Authors  notice  in 
his  practice  as  an  Agricultural  and  Hydraulic  engineer,  in 
•which  land  has  been  irrigated  in  this  way;  the*  water  hav- 
ing been  raised  from  rivers  and  small  streams  by  the  mo- 
tive power  of  the  streams  themselves.  A  very  simple  water 
wheel  moved  by  the  current,  works  a  force  pump,  by  which 


QUANTITY   OF   WATER   USED   FOR   IRRIGATION.  177 

the  water  is  raised  to  a  sufficient  height;  or  a  submerged 
rotary  or  "propeller"  pump  raises  the  water;  or  a  windmill 
may  be  used.  In  short,  where  water  can  be  procured,  and 
it  can  be  used  with  profit  upon  the  land,  there  is  no  reason 
why  it  cannot  be  made  available  through  the  skill  of  the 
engineer  or  the  enterprise  of  the  farmer;  either  by  the  force 
of  its  own  gravity,  or  by  some  mechanical  application. 

The  quantity  of  water  used  in  irrigating  farm  crops,  va- 
ries from  one  cubic  foot  per  second  for  200  acres,  to  double- 
that  quantity.  That  is,  a  stream  of  water  flowing  through 
a  gate  having  one  square  foot  of  area,  or  144  square  inches,, 
at  the  rate  of  60  feet  per  minute,  is  sufficient  to  water  200  acres; 
o*f  land.  But  meadows  consume  a  much  larger  quantity  of 
water  than  this.  In  some  of  the  irrigated  meadows  in  the; 
South  of  France,  where  the  climate  is  hot  and  dry,  the  ex- 
traordinary quantity  of  water  is  poured  over  the  grass,  as 
to  be  sufficient  to  cover  the  surface  1300  feet  in  depth  in  the 
whole  year.  In  other  cases,  water  to  the  equivalent  of  a 
total  of  27  feet  in  depth  has  been  used  in  6  months  of  the 
growing  season.  In  general  it  has  been  found  that  the 
more  water  that  can  be  made  to  flow  over  the  grass,  the 
greater  will  be  the  product. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  a  previous  chapter,  on  the 
relation  of  water  to  the  growth  of  plants,  it  is  easily  realized 
how  important  it  is  to  the  farmer  to  make  use  of  this  prac- 
tice of  irrigation  wherever  and  whenever  he  can;  how  it 
may  be  made  to  secure  and  increase  crops  under  the  ordi- 
nary circumstances  of  the  farm  culture,  and  as  an  aid  to  the 
natural  rainfall,  and  how,  by  the  use  of  it,  the  desert  may 
be  made  productive  of  every  crop  of  the  farm,  and  to  sup. 
port  an  industrious  and  enterprising  population,  where  for- 
merly no  useful  plant  could  grow,  and  where  the  wild  beasts 
roamed  and  howled  in  search  of  their  prey.  Thus  it  is  that 
man  has  dominion  over  the  earth  and  all  that  it  contains, 
and  turns  it  to  his  uses,  and  for  the  good  of  his  race,  by  all 
the  natural  forces  which  his  knowledge,  experience,  and. 
skill,  enable  him  to  make  available  for  his  purposes. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS- 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

PLOWING.— ITS  PURPOSES  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 

The  plow  iL  the  principal  implement  of  farm  culture.  The 
name  of  it  has  become  typical  of  agriculture  and  of  peace- 
ful industry ;  as  the  sword  typifies  war  and  slaughter.  Its 
precise  purpose  in  agriculture,  however,  and  the  principles 
of  its  construction  and  action,  are  very  rarely  understood 
by  those  whose  business  it  is  to  use  it,  and  whose  subsistence 
is  procured  by  its  use.  At  first,  the  plow  merely  stirred  and 
loosened  the  soil,  and  consisted  of  a  crooked  beam  of  wood, 
a  limb  of  a  tree,  guided  by  a  handle  and  drawn  by  an  ox. 
For  thousands  of  years  this  imperfect  implement  served  the 
purposes  of  the  cultivator  of  the  soil.  At  this  day,  and  in 
our  own  enlightened  country,  the  plow  in  use  over  a  large 
portion  of  the  land,  is  little  better  than  that  which  prepared 
the  ancient  fields  of  Egypt,  India,  and  Rome,  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  seed.  In  the  north  and  west,  however,  the  plows 
in  use  are  the  most  perfe  ^t  productions  of  the  mechanical 
inventors  genius  and  thought,  and  of  the  manufacturing  art. 
Its  curves  have  a  deep  purpose  and  significance,  but 
these  are  unknown  to  most  of  those  who  handle  it.  And 
yet  a  knowledge  of  thiri  purpose  and  significance  is  neces- 
sary to  the  most  effective  use  of  it. 

No  plows  in  the  Avorld  are  able  to  do  better  work  than 
the  American  plows,  and  no  others  are  so  light  and  easily 
handled.  But  it  is  a  sad  truth,  which  cannot  be  denied  or 
excused,  that  worse  plowing  can  scarcely  be  seen  than 
the  average  work  on  American  farms.  Perhaps  this 
is  the  reason  why  the  average  yield  of  our  crops  is  smaller 
than  that  of  any  other  civilized  country,  and  that  American 
farmers  complain  that  their  business  is  not  profitable.  If 
the  foundation  is  weak  and  ill  constructed,  the  edifice  can- 
not be  firm  or  substantial;  and  when  the  plowing  is  imi^er- 


IMPORTANCE  OF  GOOD  PLOWING.  179 

fectly  done,  and  the  soil  is  not  well  turned,  no  after  opera- 
tion can  be  fully  effective  however  well  it  may  be  performed; 
and  the  crops  must  necessarily  suffer. 

The  mold  board  of  a  plow  has  a  complex  curve  intended 
to  raise  the  furrow  slice  and  turn  it  over  on  its  edge  at  vary- 
ing  angles,  or  to  entirely  reverse  it.  The  latter  operation 
is  rarely  practiced,  and  generally  the  furrow  slices  are  laid 
over  at  an  angle  not  far  from  45  degrees.  This  is  the  best 
position  for  all  sorts  of  plowing,  excepting  perhaps  for  fal~ 
lowing  land  and  destroying  weeds;  but  this  last  mentioned 
necessity  should  never  occur  in  the  best  culture  of  farm. 
crops,  and  it  is  one  of  the  purposes  of  this  work  to  show 
how  this  necessity  may  be  avoided  by  thorough  culture  of 
the  soil.  American  plows  are  made  with  a  short,  sharply- 
curving  mold  board,  which  bends  the  furrow  slice  so  much 
as  to  crack  and  break  it,  and  so  to  leave  stubble  land  par- 
tially pulverized,  unless  the  soil  is  quite  stiff  clay,  and  then 
it  is  considerably  loosened  and  broken,  when  it  is  in  the 
right  condition  for  plowing,  and  not  too  wet  or  too  dry. 

The  soil  should  be  in  this  right  condition  before  tlie  plow 
is  put  into  it.  When  it  is  too  wet,  the  passage  of  the  plow 
through  it  draws  over  and  plasters  the  surface,  and  instead 
of  breaking  it,  leaves  it  tough  and  compact.  Then  the 
furrow  slices  dry  hard  and  cloddy,  and  no  amount  of  har- 
rowing will  reduce  the  land  to  a  fine  tilth.  Not  even,  the 
Acme  harrow,  the  most  perfect  implement  of  the  kind  that 
has  been  devised  or  made,  can  fully  overcome  the  injury 
thus  done  to  the  land,  which  may  remain  for  many  years. 
When  the  soil  is  too  dry,  the  plow  can  scarcely  be  kept  to 
the  proper  depth,  and  the  land  is  turned  up  in  clods 
which  dre  equally  refractory  under  the  harrow.  This  of 
course  refers  more  particularly  to  clay  soils,  but  lighter 
loams  may  be  injured  for  the  season,  or  for  years,  by  being 
plowed  when  too  wet. 

The  farmer  who  desires  to  secure  the  best  results  of  his 
labor  in  plowing,  should  choose  the  time  when  the  land  is 
moist  but  not  wet,  and  when  it  may  be  pressed  by  the  hand 
into  a  ball  which  will  cohere  and  retain  its  shape,  until  it 


180  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

is  dropped  to  the  ground,  and  then  it  will  break  apart  into 
loose,  small  fragments.  Then  the  soil  will  turn  over  and 
break  apart  and  offer  the  very  best  opportunities  for  the 
final  working  and  thorough  pulverization  by  the  harrow,  if 
this  is  not  deferred  too  long. 

The  plow  will  do  the  best  work  when  it  is  hitched  by  the 
traces,  so  that  it  runs  the  required  depth  without  any  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  plowman  to  keep  it  down  to  its  work,  or 
\o  prevent  it  from  running  too  deeply.  This  is  to  be  secured 
by  a  few  trials,  and  such  adjustment  of  the  draft  as  will 
produce  the  desired  effect.  Then  the  plowman  has  three 
important  things  to  attend  to,  viz;  to  keep  the  depth  of  the 
juTTow  even  and  regular;  to  preserve  the  width  of  the  furrow 
exactly  the  same;  and  to  make  the  furrow  perfectly  straight. 

These  three  points  comprise  the  essence  of  good  plowing, 
and  no  other  sort  of  plowing  will  secure  the  best  culture  of 
the  crops,  and  the  highest  yield  attainable. 

When  the  furrow  is  not  of  even  depth,  there  will  be  some 
parts  of  the  land  too  hard  and  compact  to  furnish  the  re- 
quisite depth  of  pulverized  soil  for  the  proper  growth  of  the 
plant.  Not  only  will  the  roots  be  unable  to  penetrate  to  a 
sufficient  depth  in  the  soil,  but  the  atmosphere  will  be  ex- 
cluded from  a  considerable  portion  of  it,  and  all  the  various 
effects  of  the  circulation  of  the  air  through  the  soil  which 
have  been  particularly  pointed  out  in  previous  chapters — 
and  the  importance  of  which  will  be  now  realized,  if  it  has 
not  been  before — will  be  missed,  to  the  serious  detriment  of 
the  crops. 

When  the  furrow  is  not  of  even  width,  there  will  be  still 
m^re  unevenness  of  the  soil.  A  portion  of  the  land  will  not 
be  cut  and  turned  over  at  all,  the  slice  of  soil  will  not  be 
severed  at  the  wide  part  but  be  simply  ])ent  over,  leaving  a 
strip  of  land  wholly  unplowed.  The  turned  soil  will  lie 
upon  this  hard  space,  and  just  there,  will  be  a  barren  spot 
upon  which  the  crop  will  surely  fail  to  some  considerable 
extent.  The  error  first  made  will  be  repeated  in  every  sub- 
sequent furrow,  unless  the  careful  and  painstaking  plowman 
"will  remedy  the  fault  by  taking  less  land  at  the  next  furrow. 


WHAT   GOOD   PLOWING   IS.  181 

at  these  places,  and  so  bring  it  out  even  again.  But  even 
then  the  previous  mistake  and  injury  is  only  balanced  by  a 
second  one,  and  two  bad  spots  are  left  in  the  field. 

When  the  furrows  are  not  straight  it  is  impossible  to  keep 
them  of  even  width ;  and  to  plow  the  land  evenfy  and  keep 
it  free  from  hard  spots  upon  which  only  weak  plants  will 
grow.  For  the  result  of  such  plowing  is,  that  a  certain 
portion  of  the  land  is  not  plowed  at  all,  and  these  unplowed 
spots  will  show,  not  only  in  the  succeeding  crop,  but  for 
years  afterwards,  and  the  repetition  of  such  irregular  plow- 
ing will  leave  a  field  spotted  over  with  these  infertile  patches 
upon  which  the  crop  will  appear  quite  inferior  to  the  rest 
of  the  field.  It  is  this  bad  plowing  to  which  the  "spotty" 
appearance  of  the  land  when  covered  with  crops  is  owing, 
and  it  goes  without  saying,  that  this  is  necessarily  accom- 
panied by  serious  loss  to  the  farmer. 

When  a  field  is  well  plowed,  one  may  walk  over  it  and 
thrust  a  stick  down  through  the  soil  anywhere,  and  find  ev- 
erywhere the  same  depth  and  the  same  ease  of  penetration; 
the  foot  will  sink  in  the  soil  everywhere  to  the  same  even 
depth;  and  when  the  harrow  passes  over  such  a  field,  it 
hugs  the  land  closely,  every  tooth  doing  its  service,  and  the 
implement  will  not  jump  and  bound  as  it  does  when  there 
are  hard  unplowed  spots  to  throw  it  out  of  the  soil. 

But  the  soil  varies  very  much  in  composition,  character, 
and  surface;  and  each  variation  calls  for  special  treatment. 
Level  ground  offers  no  difficulty  whatever  to  the  passage  of 
the  plow,  but  clay  soils  require  different  management  from 
that  of  lighter  land.  One  purpose  of  plowing  is  not  only 
to  break  up  the  land  to  fit  it  for  the  crops,  but  to  expose  as 
much  of  it  as  possible  to  the  influence  of  frost,  and  rain,  and 
the  air,  to  bring  it  into  the  finest  condition;  to  set  free  a 
large  quantity  of  mineral  plant  food  in  it;  to  decompose 
the  organic  matter  in  it;  and  to  enable  it  to  absorb  as  much 
as  possible  of  carbonic  acid  and  nitric  acid  from  the  air. 
This  purpose  is  best  attained  by  fall  plowing;  and  this 
should  be  done  as  early  as  possible  so  as  to  give  time  for 
the  desired  effects  to  be  produced. 


182  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

The  stifFest  clay  soil  is  brought  to  a  fine  and  mellow  con- 
dition more  easily  by  frost,  than  by  any  other  means.  The 
expansion  of  wai;er  in  the  act  of  freezing  separates  the  par- 
ticles of  soil  from  each  other,  and  breaks  up  their  cohesion. 
When  the  soil  thaws,  the  particles  fall  apart  and  form  a  loose 
mass.  A  rough  plowing  in  the  fall,  by  which  the  land  is 
broken  up  and  a  large  surface  is  exposed  to  the  weather,  is 
thus  the  very  best  preparation  for  the  spring  crops;  and  the 
land  thus  plowed,  is  fitted  in  the  very  best  manner  without 
any  more  plowing,  by  the  use  of  the  harrow;  especially  the 
Acme  harrow  and  pulverizer;  which  breaks  down  the  soft- 
ened clods;  turns  over  the  surface;  smooths  and  levels  it; 
and  thoroughly  mixes  the  soil.  Thus,  fall  plowing  and  the 
subsequent  exposure  to  the  winter  of  as  large  a  surface  of 
the  soil  as  may  be,  is  a  very  important  operation  in  the  cul- 
ture of  farm  crops. 

Sloping  ground  requires  a  special  kind  of  plow,  by  which 
the  land  is  always  turned  down  the  hill,  and  an  even  mellow 
surface  is  procured.  It  is  impossible  to  turn  a  furrow  up  the 
hill  as  evenly  as  it  can  be  turned  down  the  slope,  hence  the 
use  of  a  common  plow  on  sloping  ground  is  objectionable. 
There  are  several  kinds  of  hill-side  plows  now  made,  which 
do  excellent  work  and  should  be  used  on  this  kind  of  ground 
in  preference  to  any  other.  From  many  years  use  of  this 
kind  of  plow,  some  farmers  prefer  them  for  use  on  level  land. 
The  great  advantage  in  their  use  on  level  ground,  is,  that 
there  are  no  open  furrows  or  ridges  in  the  field,  as  the  land 
is  all  plowed  one  way;  or  by  beginning  in  the  middle,  one 
lialf  the. field  is  plowed  one  way  first,  and  the  other  half  is 
turned  the  other  way  afterwards.  To  prevent  ridges  in  any 
kind  of  plowing,  fither  with  the  hill-side  plow  or  the  ordi- 
nary kind,  the  simple  plan  m.ay  be  followed  of  first  plowing 
out  a  wide  open  furrow  and  then  reversing  it,  so  as  to  fill 
the  furrow  level,  and  leave  a  plain  smooth  surface.  This 
should  be  done  in  all  kinds  of  plowing,  as  it  avoids  the  dis- 
advantage of  leaving  a  strip  of  unplowed  ground  under  the 
back  furrows,  in  the  center  of  each  land;  and  the  conse- 
quent waste  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  soil. 


RESULTS   OF   GOOD   PLOWINGf.  183 

The  use  of  the  subsoil  plow  is  a  very  important  accessory 
to  the  best  culture  of  farm  crops.  It  is  used  to  follow  the 
common  plow  in  the  same  furrow,  and  breaks  up  the  hard 
bottom  for  several  inches  in  depth.  The  advantages  of  this 
cannot  be  overrated.  It  gradually  deepens  the'fertile  soil 
by  bringing  the  subsoil  under  the  influence  of  the  air,  and 
of  heat ;  and  also  of  the  decaying  vegetable  and  animal  mat- 
ter which  goes  into  the  soil  in  the  form  of  manures;  as  well 
as  of  the  chemical  influences  of  lime,  potash,  and  other  spe- 
cial fertilizers. 

The  importance  of  this  operation  of  tillage  has  always 
been  recognized  by  the  m.cst  intelligent  and  thoughtful  far- 
mers, and  should  not  be  overlooked  or  slighted.  "Tillage 
is  manure,"  has  been  an  accepted  principle  of  agriculture 
since  it  was  first  tersely  propounded  by  Mr.  Jethro  Tull, 
an  English  farmer,  about  a  century  ago;  and  it  is  now^ 
more  than  at  any  previous  time,  that  the  truth  of  it  is  re- 
cognized and  realized. 

The  results  of  good  plowing  are  varied.  They  secure  a 
fitting  bed  for  the  seed,  and  aflbrd  favorable  opportunities 
for  the  growth  of  the  roots,  and  their  most  perfect  penetra- 
tion in  and  through  the  soil.  The  soil  is  opened  to  the  ad- 
mission of  the  atmosphere  and  of  the  rain  and  dews;  the 
heat  of  the  sun  penetrates  it  and  sets  in  action  the  various 
currents,  which,  flowing  in  and  out  of  it,  bring  in  oxygen^ 
carbonic  acid,  and  nitrogen ;  all  of  which  have  a  most  inti- 
mate and  efl'ective  relation  to  the  growth  and  perfection  of 
the  crops.  Good  plowing  facilitates,  and  makes  more  effec- 
tive, every  subsequent  operation  of  culture,  and  thus  helps, 
to  a  very  great  extent,  towards  the  ultimate  end  of  the  far- 
mers labors;  which  is  large  crops,  and  a  satisfactory  return 
for  the  labor  and  capital  employed.  It  is  in  fact  the  foun- 
dation for  the  profitable  culture  of  farm  crops,  and  as  such, 
deserves  the  closest  study  and  most  intelligent  application 
of  every  good  farmer. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTEK    XXVI. 

HARROWING.— ITS  EFFECTS  UPON  THE  SOIL  AND  ITS 
RELATION  TO  THE  GROWTH  OF  CROPS. 

The  harrow  is  undoubtedly  the  most  important  implement 
that  is  used  in  the  preparation  of  the  soil  for  farm  crops. 
While  it  follows  the  plow,  and  as  a  rule  cannot  be  used  un- 
til the  plow  has  done  its  work  in  breaking  up  the  soil,  its 
effect  in  pulverizing  the  ground  is  still  more  necessary  to 
the  growth  of  plants.  If  a  proof  were  wanting,  the  exceed- 
ingly low  average  of  the  yield  of  the  crops  in  the  South, 
where  good  harrows  are  rarely  seen,  would  furnish  it  suffi- 
ciently to  convince  any  intelligent  farmer.  Where  a  nat- 
urally rich  soil,  under  a  favorable  climate  produces  no  more 
than  5  bushels  of  wheat;  10  bushels  of  corn;  150  lbs.  of  cot- 
ton to  the  acre;  there  must  be  something  wrong;  and  this 
is,  beyond  a  doubt,  to  be  found  in  the  most  imperfect  tillage 
of  the  soils. 

When  the  land  is  plowed  the  soil  is  turned  over  in  layers 
lying  side  by  side,  and  having,  more  or  less  of  open  space 
between  these  layers.  Unless  these  layers  are  perfectly 
broken  up  and  the  soil  is  pulverized  so  as  to  fill  up  all  these 
spaces,  the  seed  falls  into  these  vacancies,  where  it  germi- 
nates and  sends  out  its  spire  and  roots.  The  young  plant, 
at  first  subsisting  upon  the  nutriment  contained  in  the  seed, 
soon  pushes  its  roots  into  the  soil  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
food,  and  moisture  whereby  it  can  absorb  this  food.  The 
roots  thus  pushed  out  under  the  unfavorable  circumstances 
here  described,  fail  to  find  any  mellow  compact  soil  into 
which  they  can  enter,  but  vainly  spreading  in  search  of  it 
wither  and  perish,  and  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  exhausted  of 
the  nutriment  in  it  the  young  spire  also  dies.  This  is  the 
reason  why,  of  the  more  than  one  million  seeds  that  are  con- 
tained in  a  bushel  and  a  half  of  wheat,  and  which  are  suffi- 
cient to  give  25  plants  to  every  square  foot  in  an  acre,  or 


LOSS   BY   DEFECTIVE   HARROWING.  185 

one  to  every  6  square  inches,  or  to  a  space  2i  inches  apart 
€ach  way,  the  majority  fail  to  germinate  successfully  and 
perish  in  a  short  time;  thus  leaving  not  more  than  a  fourth 
of  their  number  of  vigorous  plants  to  survive  and  make  a 
crop.  One  peck  of  seed  on  well  prepared  and  ^fertile  soil, 
will  cover  the  ground  with  plants  thick  enough  to  make  a 
yield  of  50  bushels  per  acre  at  the  harvest.  Defective  har- 
rowing is  the  cause,  then,  of  the  loss  of  millions  of  bushels  of 
seed,  and  the  reduction  of  the  yield  to  the  low  general  average 
of  12  bushels  of  wheat,  and  other  crops  in  proportion,  per  a,cre. 
This  enormous  loss,  which  is  felt  in  the  same  way  with  ev- 
ery crop  grown,  may  very  reasonably  be  held  to  be  the  suf- 
ficient grounds  for  the  common  complaint  that  "farming 
does  not  pay,"  and  extinguishes  to  a  most  enormous  extent 
the  possible — nay  the  certain — results  of  the  farmers  work 
were  it  performed  in  a  perfect  manner. 

There  are  several  kinds  of  harrows  in  use,  some  of  which 
■are  very  inefficient  and  unfit  for  the  purposes  for  which  they 
are  used.  The  purpose  of  this  implement  is  too  commonly 
supposed  to  be  to  smooth  the  surface,  and  to  cover  seed. 
The  first  intention  is  rarely  carried  out  because  of  the  infe- 
rior plowing,  and  the  other  can  scarcely  be  consummated  be- 
cause the  implement  is  by  no  means  fitted  for  covering  seed. 
It  does  this  in  a  most  irregular  manner  by  scratching  small 
furrows  in  the  soil  with  which  the  seed  is  pushed  by  the 
hinder  teeth,  and  is  partially  covered  by  the  superficial  stir- 
ring of  the  ground.  The  usually  uneven  surface  of  the 
ground  and  the  irregular  motion  of  the  harrows,  interfere 
greatly  with  this  intended  effect,  and  lead  to  the  waste  of 
seed  and  the  inferior  yield  of  the  crops  above  mentioned. 
The  common  spike  tooth  harrow  is  the  most  objectionable 
in  this  respect;  but  the  objection  prevails  equally  against 
all  forms  of  this  implement  which  merely  tear  the  soil  and 
do  not  systematically  pulverize  the  land ;  compress,  smooth, 
and  level  the  surface;  and  thoroughly  mix  and  turn  the  soil; 
and  when  used  to  cover  seed,  thus  do  not  leave  it  under  a 
layer  of  fine  mellow  soil  which  might  provide  every  requi- 
site and  desirable  condition  for  its  most  perfect  germination. 


186      •    THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

and  the  successful  growth  of  the  crops.  The  definite  and 
special  purpose  of  the  harrow  should  be  to  prepare  the  soil 
for  the  seed,  leaving  the  seeding  and  the  covering  of  the  seed 
to  be  performed  by  the  seed  drill. 

The  effects  of  plowing  the  soil  which  have  been  described^ 
make  necessary  more  effective  implements  than  tlie  kinds 
of  harrows  above  mentioned.  A  great  improvement  was 
.made  when  the  coulter  harrows  were  introduced.  These  are 
provided  with  sloping  cutting  teeth  which  penetrate  the 
plowed  ground  easily,  and  cut  and  consolidate,  while  they 
pulverize  it,  in  a  more  effective  manner.  The  gradual  im- 
provement in  this  class  of  harrows  has  culminated  in  an  im- 
plement which  does  the  work  in  a  more  thorough  manner 
than  any  other.  This  is  necessarily  a  combined  implement 
furnished  with  an  iron  bar  or  frame  wiiich  crushes  the  clods, 
and  levels  the  surface;  a  set  of  teeth  which  slope  backwards 
and  further  break  and  pulverize  the  soil;  and  lastly,  a  dou- 
ble coulter  which  turns  over  the  crushed  soil,  in  the  manner 
of  a  set  of  small  plows,  to  a  depth  of  3  or  4  inches  or  more, 
which  is  easily  regulated  by  tho  operator.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  refer  to  this  implement  by  name  as  the 
Acme  Pulverizing  Harrow,  Clod  Crusher  and  Leveler, 
because  this  name  perfectly  well  describes  not  only  what  the 
implement  does  in  the  soil,  but  what  a  harrow  should  do  to 
effect  its  purpose  in  preparing  the  soil  for  the  growth  of 
crops. 

This  purpose  and  preparation  consist  in  tearing  apart  the 
furrow  slices;  breaking  and  crushing  the  clods;  cutting  up 
and  compacting  the  soil  as  far  as  the  plow  has  penetrated ; 
and  pulverizing  the  whole  ground;  and  leaving  the  surface 
fine  mellow  and  open  for  the  circulation  of  air  and  the  ab- 
sorption of  moisture;  as  well  as  the  reception  of  the  seed. 

From  a  consideration  of  previous  chapters,  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  relations  of  the  atmosphere;  the  various  elements 
of  the  soil;  of  heat;  of  moisture;  and  the  chemical  effects 
and  reactions  of  the  various  combinations  of  these,  to  the 
growth  of  plants,  it  is  easily  seen  of  what  importance  it  is 
that  the  pulverization  of  the  soil  should  be  as  complete  and 


WHEN   HARROWING   IS   MOST   EFFECTIVE.  187 

perfect  as  possible;  and  how  indispensable  it  is  for  the  suc- 
cessful growth  of  crops,  that  the  implements  used  to  effect 
this  purpose  should  be  most  perfectly  adapted  for  it. 

Harrowing  will  be  the  most  effective  and  useful  the  soon- 
er it  follows  the  plowing.  As  soon  as  the  soiH's  turned  it 
begins  to  dry  very  quickly;  and  if  at  all  adhesive,  it  forms 
intractable  clods  which  resist  all  efforts  to  pulverize  them. 
But  when  the  harrow  follows  the  plow,  the  moist  soil  is  eas- 
ily and  quickly  reduced  to  a  fine  tilth,  and  when  well  pul- 
verized it  does  not  dry  out  as  when  left  untouched  for  a  few 
days  after  the  plowing.  This  is  very  important  when  pre- 
paring the  soil  for  fall  crops,  because  the  plowing  should  be 
done  as  early  as  possible  and  before  the  dry  weather  bakes 
and  hardens,  it.  Then  an  immediate  harrowing  breaks  it 
up  and  mellows  it,  and  repeated  harro wings  consolidate  it. 
and  fit  it  in  the  best  manner  for  the  seed. 


THE  CULTUKE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

CULTIVATING  CROPS.— THE  EFFECT  UPON  THE  SOIL 
AND  UPON  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CROPS. 

The  cultivation  of  crops  during  their  growth  is  not  by 
any  means  the  least  important  mechanical  process  for  the 
improvement  of  the  soil.  Although  it  is  a  temporary  pro- 
cess, and  is  used  for  a  special  purpose,  yet  its  results  are 
quite  as  permanent  in  improving  the  land  as  any  other  pro- 
cess which  can  be  used  to  gain  the  same  effect.  Every  far- 
mer w^ho  reads  and  studies  the  literature  of  agriculture,  has 
learned  that  the  culture  of  root  crops  has  a  beneficial  effect 
upon  the  land.  The  farmer  who  grows  a  good  crop  of  corn 
by  means  of  thorough  cultivation  of  the  soil  during  the 
growth  of  it,  know*  that  the  following  oat  crop  is  benefited 
by  it,  and  yields  better  for  the  work  which  has  been  done 
the  previous  year.  These  are  simply  the  necessary  results 
of  the  frequent  stirring  of  the  soil  by  which  the  contributions 
of  all  the  atmospheric  agencies  are  secured  to  add  to  the 
amount  of  available  plant  food;  and  while  the  growing  crop 
is  benefited,  a  surplus  remains  for  the  next  crop. 

Summer  fallowing,  or  the  frequent  working  of  the  bare 
soil  during  the  growing  season,  was  formerly  considered  an 
effective  means  of  improving  the  soil.  This  mechanical  op- 
eration consisted  in  plowing,  harrowing,  cross  plowing,  and 
repeated  harrowing.  The  effect  was  to  destroy  weeds,  and 
to  pulverize  the  soil  so  that  the  air  and  the  atmospheric 
moisture  might  contribute  to  it  whatever  they  could,  and 
also  by  their  chemical  action  develop  the  fertility  which 
was  latent  in  it.  The  operation  was  no  doubt  a  useful  one, 
but  it  w^as  thought,  in  time,  that  the  advantages  accruing 
from  it  were  gained  at  too  great  a  cost;  and  the  loss  of  a 
crop  was  too  great  a  price  paid  for  the  benefits  received. 
This  truth  was  finally  accepted,  and  the  growth  of  a  culti- 
vated crop  was  substituted  for  the  bare  fallow.      Certainly 


THE   BENEFITS   OF   SUMMEK   CULTIVATION.  189 

everything  that  could  be  gained  by  the  working  of  the  bare 
ground  was  secured  by  the  cultivation  of  a  growing  crop; 
and  more;  for  the  shading  of  the  land  preserves  the  moisture, 
and  chemical  action  goes  on  more  effectively  in  the  moist 
soil  than  in  the  dry.  Thus  the  gain  resulting  was  found  to 
be  a  profitable  crop  and  the  improvement  of  the  soil  to  as 
great,  or  nearly  as  great,  an  extent  as  though  no  crop  was 
taken  and  the  labor  was  spent  on  the  bare  ground. 

No  farmer  dreams  of  summer  fallow  now.  He  prepares 
the  land  for  corn,  potatoes,  beans,  mangels,  or  some  crop 
which  can  be  thoroughly  worked  during  its  growth;  and 
thus  gains  all  the  benefits  which  can  result  from  this  thor- 
ough working.  What  theii  are  these  benefits  which  result 
from  this  summer  cultivation  of  the  land  ? 

It  has  been  shown  in  previous  chapters  that  the  soil  de- 
rives a  considerable  amount  of  valuable  plant  food  from  the- 
atmosphere,  and  necessarily  these  contributions  are  greater 
in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  air  which  passes  through, 
or  into  and  out  of  the  soil;  by  circulation.  It  is  known  that 
the  soil  gathers  from  7  to  10  lbs.  of  nitrogen  every  year,  in 
the  form  of  nitric  acid  and  of  ammonia  from  the  atmosphere. 
But  this  result  was  proved  by  experiments  made  in  the  cool 
climate  of  England  and  not  upon  cultivated  soil.  It  is  well 
known  that  heat  is  a  most  active  agency  in  developing  ni- 
tric acid  and  ammonia;  and  that  if  nitric  acid  is  produced 
in  the  atmosphere  by  the  action  of  lightning-,  and  if  ammon- 
ia is  produced  by  the  decomposition  of  organic  matter,  that 
in  our  hot  summer  climate,  when  electrical  disturbances  are 
most  active,  and  when  decomposition  is  most  rapid,  we  may 
expect  the  fullest  and  most  effective  results  of  these  agencies 
and  a  correspondingly  large  product  of  these  forms  of  com- 
bined nitrogen.  Thus  the  contribution  of  these  forms  of 
plant  food  are  more  copious  during  the  summer  season  than 
at  any  other. 

But  these  contributions  are  brought  down  by  the  rains 
and  by  the  air  which  circulate  in  the  soils.  It  is  evident 
and  obvious  that  the  more  the  air  can  be  made  to  circulate 
through  the  soil,  and  the  more  water  that  passes  through  it> 


190  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  larger  will  be  these  contributions  of  the  richest  kind  of 
plant  food.  It  is  equally  evident  that  the  more  the  soil  is 
worked  and  stirred,  the  more  the  changes  from  hot  to 
cool,  and  from  moist  to  dry,  will  affect  it;  and  thus  in 
consequence  of  all  this,  the  soil  that  is  cultivated  during 
the  summer  must  gain  the  largest  accessions  of  plant 
food  from  the  atmosphere.  This  is  the  first  and  greatest 
benefit  that  thus  accrues  from  the  summer  cultivation  of  a 
growing  crop. 

It  has  been  shown  too,  that  a  large  quantity  of  carbonic 
acid  is  brought  to  the  soil  by  the  atmosphere  which  circu- 
lates in  it,  and  by  the  rain  which  descends  upon  it;  and 
that  carbonic  acid  has  most  distinct  and  important  relations 
to  plant  growth.  It  furnishes  the  carbon,  of  Avhich  more 
than  one-half  of  the  dry  substance  of  plants  consists.  More- 
over, water  containing  carbonic  acid  exerts  a  strong  solvent 
action  upon  the  mineral  compounds  of  the  soil,  decomposing 
them  and  fitting  them  for  use  as  food  for  plants.  Tliis  is 
another  and  most  important  benefit  accruing  from  this  me- 
chanical operation  upon  the  soil;  for  the  larger  amount  of 
water  received  and  passed  through  the  soil  by  evaporation, 
the  more  effect  is  produced  by  the  action  of  the  carbonic 
acid  dissolved  in  it. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  oxygen  which  is  absorbed 
by  the  rain  Avater,  and  of  the  effect  of  the  nitrifying  influence 
of  the  peculiar  germ  known  to  produce  nitric  acid  in  the 
soil.  These  too,  exert  a  more  potent  influence  in  porous 
and  moist  soil  than  in  compact  and  dry  soil.  Thus  in 
many  ways  we  are  able  to  perceive  the  useful  results  of  the 
frequent  v7orking  of  the  soil  during  the  growth  of  a  crop. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  summer  fallow  was  designed  for 
the  destruction  of  weeds,  as  well  as  for  the  reduction  of  the 
soil  to  a  mellow  and  pulverulent  condition.  When  a  culti- 
vated crop  is  w^orked  as  it  should  be,  every  weed  is  de- 
stroyed most  effectively.  And  just  here  a  most  important 
point  for  consideration  comes  up.  As  a  rule  the  summer 
cultivation  of  the  soil  is  not  sufficiently  thorough.  Some 
weeds  are  permitted  to  escape.     This  is  an  injury  to  the  soil 


INJURIOUS  EFFECTS  OP  WEEDS.  191 

and  to  the  crop,  and  should  not  be  suffered  by  any  good 
farmer.  The  full  purpose  of  cultivation  is  not  secured,  un- 
less the  weeds  are  destroyed  before  they  appear  above  the 
soil.  When  the  cultivation  is  the  most  effective  one  may 
see  on  examination  of  the  soil,  a  vast  number  o/  newly  ger- 
minated seeds;  which,  had  they  been  permitted  to  gain  a 
foot-hold  in  the  soil,  would  have  drawn  nutriment  from  it 
and  would  have  checked  the  growing  crop.  A  large  por- 
tion of  them  would  have  gained  a  sufficient  foot-hold,  or 
root-hold,  to  resist  the  shock  of  the  overturning  and  could 
not  be  wholly  destroyed  by  the  disturbance  of  their  roots. 
Thus  the  land  will  not  have  been  kept  clean,  and  injurious 
weeds  will  have  been  perpetuated.  These  remarks  are  cer- 
tainly justified  by  the  appearance  of  the  corn  and  root  fields 
on  nearly  every  farm.  The  crops,  half  smothered  in  weeds,  are 
robbed  of  their  necessary  food.  A  vast  quantity  of  water,  in- 
dispensable to  the  full  growth  of  the  crops,  is  appropriated  and 
exhaled  by  the  weeds,  and  in  this  way  too,  the  soil  is  de- 
prived of  its  fertility,  and  the  farmer  of  the  expected  re- 
wards for  his  toil  and  time. 

No  weed  should  be  permitted  to  appear  above  the  ground 
in  such  a  case.  If  it  does,  the  main  purpose  of  the  cultiva- 
tion is  not  effected.  This  is  not  to  kill  weeds,  so  much  as  to 
improve  the  soil,  and  were  the  soil  wholly  free  from  weeds, 
the  regular  working  should  be  carried  on  in  the  most  thor- 
ough manner.  The  weeds  are  destroyed  incidentally;  and 
the  farmer  should  not  wait  for  them  to  appear  before  the 
cultivator  is  started  in  the  rows.  This  should  be  done  be- 
fore the"  young  plants  of  the  crop  have  appeared  above  the 
ground,  and  should  be  continued  at  such  short  intervals  as 
may  be  necessary  to  keep  the  soil  loose  and  mellow. 


URE   OF   FAEM  CROPS. 


TER    XXVIII. 

MANURES.— THEIR  MECHANICAL  EFFECTS  UPON 
THE  SOIL. 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter  how  the  ming- 
ling of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil  affects  its  character;  giv- 
ing it  a  larger  capacity  for  absorbing  moisture,  and  for 
holding  it  against  evaporation ;  and  thus  greatly  improving 
its  value  for  the  production  of  crops.  The  art  of  manuring 
is  one  that  should  be  well  understood  by  the  farmer,  for  it 
is  somewhat  intricate,  and  has  more  than  the  one  result  of 
adding  plant  food  to  the  soil.  This  useful  addition  of  plant 
food  is  by  no  means  the  only  thing  necessary  to  secure  good 
crops.  There  must  be  with  it,  as  has  been  previously  ex- 
plained, a  certain  condition  of  the  soil  by  which  the  plant 
food  is  made  available.  Just  as  it  is  unavailing  to  a  starv- 
ing man  to  know  that  a  store  of  food  is  contained  in  a  sol- 
id stone  building  closed  with  iron  doors,  and  secured  by- 
great  bars  and  locks,  which  he  cannot  open,  so  it  is  una- 
vailing for  the  crops  that  the  soil  may  be  rich  in  all  the 
elements  of  plant  food,  and  yet  its  mechanical  condition  is 
such  that  the  roots  cannot  reach  this  food  or  the  atmosphere 
make  it  soluble  and  nutritious.  Manuring  not  only  adds 
plant  food  to  the  soil,  but  it  so  affects  the  mechanical  con- 
dition of  the  soil,  when  it  is  used  in  the  right  manner,  as  to 
quickly  reduce  it  to  a  state  of  decomposition  and  make  it 
soluble  in  water.  Manure  may  be  buried  in  the  soil,  or  left 
exposed  on  the  surface,  and  in  either  case  be  of  little  or  no 
use  to  the  crops;  for  if  this  be  their  only  dependence,  the 
young  plants  would  be  starved  before  the  roots  had  gained 
strength  and  growth  enough  to  reach  the  manure. 

This  mechanical  effect  of  manures  on  the  soil  is  of  great 
importance,  for  it  affects  the  value  and  usefulness  of  the 
manure  itself,  and  exerts  a  considerable  effect  upon  the 
growth  of  the  crops,  beyond  the  mere  supply  of  the  crude 


HOW  MANURE  IS  BEST  APPLIED  TO  THE  LAND.         193 

elements  of  fertility.  This  effect  should  be  understood,  lest 
labor  and  manure,  both,  be  wasted. 

If  the  manure  be  plowed  under  with  a  flat  furrow,  for  in* 
stance,  it  is  buried  out  of  reach  of  the  influences , of  the  air, 
by  which  oxidation  and  conversion  into  plant  food  are  ef- 
fected. The  seed  sown  upon  land  so  prepared  may  germi*- 
nate  and  put  out  roots,  but  the  growth  will  be  weak  until 
the  manure  is  reached ;  when  there  will  still  be  weak  and 
slow  growth  because  the  manure  has  not  become  availably 
for  plant  food  by  decomposition.  This  is  therefore  a  loss  of 
material  and  of  time ;  the  mechanical  effect  of  the  man- 
ure upon  the  soil  is  missed;  and  the  soil  is  neither  made" 
more  absorbent,  nor  more  retentive  of  moisture.  When  the 
manure  is  spread  upon  the  land  as  a  top  dressing,  the  same 
absence  of  useful  results  prevails;  and  there  is  no  change  in 
the  soil;  although,  if  rains  intervene,  the  soluble  part  of  the 
manure  is  carried  into  the  soil  and  is  made  available  for 
the  crops. 

When  the  manure  is  spread  upon  the  soil,  and  is  then 
plowed  under  with  lap  furrows,  which  are  laid  over  at  an 
angle  of  45  degrees  or  thereabouts,  there  is  an  intimate  mix- 
ture of  the  manure  with  the  soil.  These  are  intermingled 
in  alternate  layers  set  on  edge.  All  the  fiirrow  slices  of  5 
or  6  inches  in  thickness  have  between  them  a  layer  of  man- 
ure, and  the  edges  of  all  the  layers  are  fully  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere  and  to  the  rain.  Decomposition  of  the  manure 
and  the  chemical  reaction  of  this  process  upon  the  mineral 
particles  of  the  soil,  go  on  with  rapidity  and  perfection. 
The  soil  and  the  decaying  organic  matter  are  further  inter- 
mingled by  the  harrowing  after  the  plowing,  and  if  the  har- 
rowing is  done  in  an  effective  manner  the  intermixture  is 
perfectly  made. 

The  result  of  this  is  a  more  or  less  altered  physical  condi- 
tion of  the  soil  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  manure 
which  has  been  used.  It  matters  not  so  far  as  the  mechan- 
ical effect  upon  the  soil  is  concerned,  whether  this  mixture 
is  rich  manure  from  the  stables  or  consists  of  composted  veg- 
etable matter,  swamp  muck,  green  crops  grown  for  the  pur- 


194  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

pose,  or  a  sod  of  grass  or  clover.  The  decayed  organic 
matter  of  considerable  bulk,  and  porous,  and  absorbent, 
opens  and  loosens  the  soil ;  makes  it  able  to  absorb  and  re- 
tain moisture;  admits  the  air  with  its  enriching  gases  to  it; 
and  by  changing  the  color,  warms  it  by  the  absorption  of 
the  sun's  rays.  This  is  the  result  of  the  mechanical  effects 
only ;  the  chemical  results  are  not  now  considered.  And 
these  are  seen  to  be  so  important  in  so  many  ways  to  the 
growth  of  the  crops,  that  the  farmer  desirous  of  procuring 
from  the  fields,  the  largest  possible  product,  will  make  ev- 
ery exertion  to  increase  the  quantity  of  this  bulky  vegeta- 
ble matter  which  he  can  turn  to  such  valuable  uses. 

There  is  no  scarcity  of  this  kind  of  matter.  Straw;  leaves; 
coarse  w^eeds — which  should  always  be  free  ffom  seeds; 
swamp  muck;  the  wastes  of  woolen  mills;  charcoal  w^aste; 
sawdust;  lime;  refuse  from  breweries;  soap  factories;  sugar 
factories;  tanneries;  sweepings  of  streets;  burned  clay;  and 
the  refuse  of  brick  yards  and  lime  kilns;  as  well  as  the  ex- 
crements from  animals;  and  nightsoil;  all  these  and  any 
other  matters  that  can  be  turned  to  this  purpose — whether 
they  be  rich  in  fertilizing  matter  or  not,  should  be  gathered 
by  the  farmer  for  the  mechanical  improvement  of  the  soil. 

Clay  soil  and  sandy  land  are  equally  benefited ;  the  one 
is  opened  and  made  loose  and  porous;  the  other  is  made 
more  compact;  and  both  are  made  more  absorbent  and  re- 
tentive of  moisture  by  this  means.  So  that  the  farmer  may 
not  stand  upon  the  order  of  his  performance,  but  do  this 
work  how  and  when  he  can.  If  one  season  is  preferable  to 
another  it  is  the  fall,  when  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  use- 
ful materials  that  may  be  collected,  and  when  leisure  per- 
mits the  time  to  be  given  to  the  work.  The  preparation 
of  the  composts  may  go  on  through  the  winter  season  as 
-well  as  during  the  summer;  but  the  best  opportunities  occur 
in  the  fall.  Many  opportunities  are  missed  for  want  of 
thought  or  knowledge  of  the  facts.  Every  village  may 
supply  hundreds  of  loads  of  available  materials,  which,  un- 
used, are  a  costly  burden  to  be  got  rid  of.  Every  city  is 
overburdened  with  the  most  valuable  waste  matters;  the 


MATERIALS   FOR  MANURE.  195 

woods  are  deeply  covered  with  them;  and  the  thousands  of 
factorieg  are  concerned  how  to  get  rid  of  the  troublesome 
surplus.  The  farmer  need  not  make  a  very  close  search  to 
find  them  within  easy  reach. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


PART    FOURTH. 


^is"**-^ 

CHAPTEK    XXIX. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  OP  THE  SOIL  BY  CHEMICAL 
MEANS.— ANIMAL  MANURES. 

The  various  methods  of  improving  soils  by  chemical 
means,  are  based  upon  the  following  principles  which  have 
been  already  explained. 

First — Plants  obtain  from  a  fertile  soil  a  variable  pro- 
portion of  their  organic  nutriment,  and  the  greater  part  of 
their  nitrogen  is  derived  from  this  source. 

Second. — The  inorganic  food  which  they  require,  they 
procure  solely  from  the  soil. 

Third. — Different  kinds  of  plants  require  a  special  supply 
of  different  kinds  of  inorganic  food,  or  of  the  same  kinds  in 
varying  proportions. 

Fourth. — Soils  vary  considerably  in  respect  of  the  va- 
rious inorganic  compounds  they  contain,  some  soils  may  be 
deficient  in  some  of  them,  and  others  may  contain  an 
abundance  of  all  of  them;  therefore  the  growth  of  plants 
upon  various  soils  differs  accordingly. 

The  whole  art  of  improving  the  soil  by  chemical  means, 
or  of  manuring  and  fertilizing  it  is  based  upon  these  few 
principles. 

There  are  three  distinct  methods  of  improving  the  soil  in 
this  way. 

First;  by  removing  from  it  some  injurious  substance,  and 
affording  it  an  outlet  by  means  of  drains,  in  a  word,  by 
draining. 

Second;  by  the  addition  of  some  substance  which  may  re- 
move, or  change  the  character  of  noxious  substances;  or  so 
change  inert  substances  as  to  make  them  available  by  them- 


ACTION  OF  MANURE  UPON  THE  SOIL.  197 

selves,  or  by  reaction  upon  other  substances.  For  instance, 
by  adding  lime  to  peaty  soils  or  reclaimed  swamps,  we  may- 
neutralize  noxious  acids,  and  develop  the  nitrogen  and  ©th- 
er  inert  substances  which  they  contain,  into  available  plant 
food. 

Third;  by  adding  to  the  soil  various  substances  which 
afford  food  for  plants.  This  is  done  by  manuring  the  soil; 
although  as  yet  we  are  not  able  to  determine  whether  what 
we  add  to  the  soil  actually  feeds  the  crops  or  only  prepares 
food  for  them.  There  is  however  reason  to  believe  that 
some  substances,  as  lime,  potash,  soda  in  various  forms,  but 
chiefly  as  salt,  act  in  both  capacities;  now  feeding  the  plants 
and  then  liberating  from  the  soil  and  preparing  other 
nutriment  which  enters  into  the  circulation;  at  other  times 
or  at  the  same  time  entering  themselves  into  the  substance 
of  the  plants.  This  distinction  makes  it  necessary  to  class* 
ify  all  these  substances  which  either  enter  into  the  substance 
of  plants  or  prepare  other  substances  to  do  this,  or  which 
perform  both  functions,  as  manure. 

In  this  sense  we  may  call  these  substances  either  simple 
manures — such  as  common  salt;  lime;  nitrate  of  soda;  gyp- 
sum; or  as  mixed  or  complete  manures,  as  barn  yard  man- 
ure; and  the  various  artificial  mixed  manures  which  contain 
all  the  elements  of  barn  yard  manure,  and  which  are  now 
in  common  use  and  are  largely  sold. 

But  in  considering  specially  these  various  manures  which 
improve  the  soil  or  promote  the  growth  of  crops  in  any  way, 
we  may  take  them  in  the  following  order,  viz:  animal  man- 
ures; vegetable  manures;  and  mineral  manures. 

Animal  Manures. — Animal  substances  have  always 
been  considered  as  exceedingly  valuable  manure,  because 
they  are  highly  concentrated  and  so  readily  decomposed  that 
their  action  upon  vegetation  is  both  immediate  and  remark- 
ably apparent.  The  various  animal  manures  may  be  in- 
cluded in  the  following  list,  the  solid  excrements  of  farm 
animals  and  of  human  beings,  and  their  urine  mixed  with 
litter  and  various  vegetable  substances  which  are  used  as 
absorbents;  flesh;  blood;  horn;  hair;  wool;  bones;  and  guano* 


198         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

The  excrements  of  animals,  both  solid  and  liquid,  with 
the  litter  used  in  stables,  is  the  main  supply  of  the  farmer 
for  the  feeding  of  his  crops.  These  vary  in  character,  but 
not  as  is  commonly  suj^posed  as  the  animals  themselves  dif- 
fer, but  on  the  contrary,  us  the  kind  of  food  varies.  Horse 
manure  is  considered  the  best  of  this  class,  but  it  is  because 
horses  are  fed  chiefly  upon  grain  and  hay;  in  like  manner 
the  manure  of  sheep,  cows,  and  pigs,  varies  in  quality  as 
these  animals  are  fed  upon  grass,  straw,  or  grain. 

The  liquid  excrement  of  animals — the  urine,  so  called  be- 
cause of  the  large  quantity  of  urea  contained  in  it — is  richer 
in  the  valuable  elements  of  plant  food  than  the  solid  drop- 
pings. Urine  contains  a  large  quantity  of  water,  thus  in 
1000  parts, 

Water. 

Hixman  urine  contains 969 

Horses      "  "       940 

Cows        "  "       930 

Pigs  "  "        926 

Sheep       "  "       960 

The  urine  is  the  most  important  and  valuable  of  all  nat- 
ural liquid  manures,  and  instead  of  being  wasted  and  made 
a  source  of  offense  to  the  sensitive  membranes  of  man  and 
animals  by  reason  of  the  pungent  ammoniacal  vapors  evolved 
from  it,  it  deserves  to  be  most  carefully  saved  and  preserved 
for  use  in  fertilizing  the  soil  and  in  feeding  crops.  The 
need  for  this  is  shown  in  the  following  figures,  which  give 
the  amount  of  the  most  valuable  elements  of  plant  food, 
contained  in  it. 

Composition  of  Urine  in  1000  Parts. 

Of  Man.       Horse.         Cow.  Sheep.  Pig. 

Water 933.0  940.0  926.2  960.0  926.0 

^'^^ """'  27.0  40.0  28.0  56.0 


Organic 
matter. 

Inorganic 
matter. 

23.4 

7.6 

27.0 

33.0 

50.0 

20.0 

56.0 

18.0 

28.0 

12.0 

30.l) 

i.o| 


Uric  acid 

Mucus  and  other  matter 17.4'  .  2.0 

Sulphate  of  potash 3.7" 

Sulphate  of  soda 3.2 

Phosphate  of  soda 2.9 

Phosphate  of  ammonia 1.0^  33.0  31.8  12.0  18.0 

Chloride  of  sodium 4.5 

Nitrate  of  ammonia 1.5 

Various  phosphates l.l 


1000.0  1000.  1000.  1000.  1000. 


VALUE   OF   URINE.  199 

Carbon.      Hydrogen.      Nitrocjen.        Oxygen. 
Urea  consists  of  in  100  parts 20.0  6.6  46.7  26.7 

Nearly  one-half  of  the  solid  matter  of  urine  consists  of  nitro- 
gen, and  it  is  therefore  far  richer  in  this  invaluable  element 
than  flesh,  blood,  or  any  other  fertilizing  substance  of  which 
the  value  is  supposed  to  exist  in  the  nitrogen  it  contains. 

Urea  possesses  a  further  valuable  property,  in  that  when 
it  ferments,  which  it  does  very  rapidly,  it  changes  entirely 
to  carbonate  of  ammonia.  The  ammonia  thus  formed  how- 
ever at  once  begins  to  escape  into  the  atmosphere,  and  it  is 
this  volatile  gas,  thus  escaping,  which  causes  the  pungent 
odor  of  unclean  stables.  The  absolute  necessity  then  of 
preserving  this  valuable  substance — the  urine — from  loss, 
either  by  waste  when  fresh,  or  by  decomposition  afterwards, 
is  paramount,  and  cannot  be  neglected  by  the  farmer  who 
expects  to  succeed  fully  in  the  culture  of  his  crops.  The 
enormous  waste  resulting  from  the  common  neglect  of  far- 
mers in  this  respect,  is  illustrated  by  the  following  figures 
which  represent  the  quantity  of  urine  yielded  by  a  man,  a 
horse,  and  a  cow,  during  a  whole  year,  and  the  solid  matter 
contained  in  it. 

there  are  of  solid  matter.  Urea.  Ammonia. 

In  tlie  urine  of  a  man 1000  lbs.             67  lbs,  30  lbs.  17  lbs.     • 

In  the  urine  of  a  horse 1500  lbs.             90  lbs.  45  lbs.  25  lbs. 

In  the  urine  of  a  cow 13000  lbs.           900  lbs.  400  lbs.  230  lbs. 

These  figures  are  given  by  Sprengel,  and  differ  from  those 
by  Boussingault  who  increases  the  amount  of  the  ammonia 
in  the  case  of  the  horse  by  50  per  cent,  and  reduces  that  in 
the  case  of  the  cow.  But  as  has  been  observed  these  results 
depend  very  considerably  upon  the  kind  and  quantity  of 
food  consumed  by  the  animals. 

Many  farmers  give  considerable  attention  to  the  amount 
of  ammonia  which  the  soil  gathers  from  the  air,  or  which 
is  brought  down  in  the  snow;  but  if  the  total  amount  of  this 
which  is  believed  to  be  thus  derived  is  certainly  gained,  the 
quantity  secured  by  30  acres  is  not  more  than  is  produced 
by  one  man,  and  a  horse,  and  a  cow,  in  the  urine  alone. 
How  important  then  is  it  that  this  latter  source  of  fertility 
of  the  soil  should  be  most  jealously  guarded. 


200         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

The  solid  excrements  of  animals,  man  included,  contain 
every  element  of  plant  growth;  but  by  no  means  in  the 
perfect  proportion  required  by  the  crops. 

The  constituents  of  ordinary  mixed  farm  manures  are 
as  follows  (in  1000  lbs). 

Fresh.  Half  rotted.  WlioUy  rotted. 

Water 710  750  790 

Organic  matter 246  192  145 

Mineral  matter 44.  58  65. 

Nitrogen  (in  the  organic  matter)...  4.5  5.  5.8 

Potash 5.2  6.3  5.0 

Phosphoric  acid  in  the  ash 2.1  2.6  3.0 

Lime  in  the  ash 5.7  7.0  8.8 

Magnesia  in  the  ash 1.4  1.8  1.8 

Horse  manure  is  considered  more  valuable  than  any  other 
part  of  the  common  stable  manure.  It  heats  quickly  and 
gives  off  ammonia  copiously,  and  is  really  richer  than  other 
manure  because  of  the  less  quantity  of  urine  voided,  although 
the  horse  may  be  no  better  fed  than  other  animals.  But 
when  cows  or  fattening  oxen  are  well  fed  upon  bran  and 
oil  meals,  their  manure  heats  as  readily  and  exhales  am- 
monia by  its  rapid  decomposition  as  copiously  as  horse  man- 
ure. The  difference  between  the  manure  of  a  horse  and  a 
cow  is  very  slight  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  analyses 
of  the  dry  excrements. 

Horse  dung.  Cow  dung. 

Carbon  (per  cent.) 38.7  42.8 

Hydrogen    "          5.1  5.2 

Oxygen        "          37.7  37.7 

Nitrogen      "          2.2  2.3 

Ash               "          16.3  12.0 

100.00  100.00 

Water  "  300.00  5G6.00 

400.00  666.00 

The  moister  condition  of  the  cow  manure  explains  the 
reason  why  it  heats  less  rapidly  than  that  of  the  horse. 

Night  soil,  or  human  excrement,  is  generally  a  rich  and 
valuable  fertilizer;  but  it  is  commonly  so  mismanaged  that 
the  most  valuable  portions  are  lost  by  exhalation,  or  by 
solution  and  waste.  When  mixed  with  dry  earth,  or  peat, 
or  powdered  charcoal,  it  can  be  handled  without  offense  and 
waste.     It  is  a  matter  of  public  loss  and  general  offense, 


MANAGEMENT  OF   MANURE.  201 

* 

that  this  useful  fertilizer  should  be  wasted  in  the  manner 
in  which  it  now  is,  and  the  vast  quantity  of  plant  food  in  it 
should  be  worse  than  thrown  away.  China  sustains  a  pop- 
ulation now  8  times  as  large  as  that  of  the  United  States, 
and  supports  all  its  vast  consumption  by  its  owfi  products; 
and  yet  without  any  fertilizers  but  those  derived  from  the 
night  soil,  which  is  carefully  preserved  for  this  use  by 
mixture  with  earth. 

The  excrements  of  the  sheep  furnishes  a  manure  second 
only  to  that  of  the  horse,  and  is  highly  valued  by  the  best 
farmers,  especially  for  the  production  of  grain.  The  feed- 
ing of  sheep  is,  on  this  account,  made  a  special  business 
upon  grain  farms  where  their  manure,  and  the  profit  from 
their  flesh  and  wool,  are  found  to  be  exceedingly  desirable 
and  satisfactory. 

The  value  of  stable  manure  depreciates  by  the  length  of 
time  during  which  it  is  kept  and  by  exposure  to  the  weath- 
er. The  loss  sustained  in  keeping  manure  in  open  yards 
for  3  months  is  fully  one-half;  partly  by  washing  by  the 
rains,  and  partly  by  the  escape  of  the  ammonia  evolved 
during  the  decomposition.  The  values  above  given  are 
those  of  the  best  preserved  manure,  and  the  farmer  who 
wishes  to  realize  these  values  must  take  measures  to  so  keep 
his  manure,  as  to  preserve  all  its  fertilizing  qualities.  This 
is  easily  done  by  putting  it  in  flat  heaps  which  will  gather 
the  rain  that  falls  upon  it,  and  no  more,  and  to  control  the 
heat  of  the  fermentation  by  turning  it  over  before  the  heat 
becomes  injurious.  Overheated  manure  is  of  little  value; 
but  overheating  Avill  rarely  occur  when  all  the  manure  of  va- 
rious kinds  are  regularly  mixed  together  and  kept  in  a  com- 
pact heap,  flat  on  the  top,  to  receive  the  rain.  The  liq- 
uid manure  should  be  carefully  saved  by  the  use  of  absorb- 
ents, of  which  dried  sw^amp  muck  is  the  best,  or  by  tight 
drains  through  which  it  is  carried  to  an  underground  cis- 
tern in  which  the  solid  manure  is  kept  to  absorb  it.  The 
escape  of  ammonia  is  easily  prevented  by  the  free  use  of 
powdered  gypsum  scattered  on  the  stable  floors  and  about 
the  yards,  and  through  the  manure  heaps. 


202      ^   THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Poultry  manure  is  considered  to  be  a  valuable  fertilizer, 
and  is  in  fact  richer  in  useful  plant  food  than  any  other 
kind  of  manure  from  farm  animals;  but  it  is  not  nearly  so 
rich  in  this  respect  as  is  generally  believed.  Its  composi- 
tion is  as  follows: 

Analysis  of  Hen  Manure. 

Dry.  Fresh. 

Water  per  cent 8.35  45.73 

Phosphoric  acid 2.02  .47 

Lime 2.22  .97 

Magnesia .'. 0.68 

Potash 0.94  .18 

Nitrogen 2.13  ,79 

Insoluble  matter 34.65  39.32 

Value  per  ton $10.55  9  3.42 

The  cause  of  its  higher  value  than  that  of  ordinary  farm 
manure,  is,  that  it  contains  the  solid  and  liquid  evacuations 
together;  these  being  expelled  together  by  birds;  hence  the 
urine  is  intimately  mixed  with  the  solid  excrement.  The 
grain,  and  animal  food  in  the  form  of  insects,  consumed  by 
poultry,  tend  to  give  the  manure  a  high  value.  It  is  how- 
ever but  little,  if  any,  more  valuable  as  a  fertilizer  than 
equally  dry  manure  from  w^ell  fed  horses  or  sheep.  Its  con- 
centrated composition  enables  it  to  be  used  with  advantage 
in  the  common  form  of  compost,  with  plaster  and  wood 
ashes;  in  which  it  is  very  often  applied  to  corn,  cabbage, 
and  garden  crops.  It  is  however  too  valuable  to  be  neg- 
lected as  it  frequently  is,  and  might  be  saved  and  used  with 
profit  in  the  above  named  compost  and  as  top  dressing  for 
grain  crops  in  the  spring,  for  which  its  soluble  character, 
and  its  pulverized  condition,  make  it  both  useful  and  con- 
venient. 


GREEN  MANURING. 


CHAPTERXXX. 

VEGETABLE   MANURES.— THEIR  ACTION  U5>0N  THE 

SOIL  AND  THEIR  VALUE  AS  PLANT  FOOD.— 

GREEN  MANURING. 

Vegetable  manures  consist  of  green  crops  grown  for  the 
purpose,  plowed  into  the  soil;  of  the  roots  and  remains  of 
the  crops;  and  of  any  vegetable  matter  which  may  be  gath- 
ered for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  bulk  of  the  common 
farm  manures.  Green  manuring  is  the  plowing  in  of  any 
green  crop  in  its  fresh  state  and  w^hile  growing  upon  the 
soil.  It  is  necessarily  an  economical  operation  as  regards 
labor,  and  is  especially  well  adapted  for  the  manuring  of 
distant  fields,  or  of  hilly  land  where  manure  could  not  be 
hauled  except  with  much  labor  and  expense.  But  this 
practice  is  advantageous  in  other  respects.  Air  and  water 
— it  has  been  shown — are  most  effective  agents  in  the  de- 
composition of  organic  matter,  and  green  vegetable  sub- 
stances contain  much  water  in  themselves  and  are  much 
mixed  with  air  when  loosely  covered  with  soil;  hence  they 
decompose  very  rapidly  and  become  serviceable  when  thus 
mixed  with  the  soil. 

The  sap  of  plants  contains  certain  compounds  of  nitrogen 
which  not  only  very  readily  decompose,  but  have  the  prop- 
erty of  inducing  by  their  own  decomposition,  the  elements 
of  other  substances,  with  which  they  come  in  contact  in  the 
soil,  to  assume  new  forms  and  to  undergo  various  changes 
by  which  they  enter  into  new  combinations.  The  sap  of 
plants,  in  its  own  rapid  decomposition,  quickly  propagates 
in  the  woody  fiber  and  other  substances  of  the  plants,  an 
active  fermentation  which  results  in  the  speedy  decomposi- 
tion of  these  substances  of  which  the  plants  are  composed. 
Then  the  elements  of  which  sap  and  the  solid  substance 
of  the  plants  are  composed  form  new  compounds,  which  are 
useful  to  the  growing  crops,  and  which  supply  them  w^ith 
food.     This  action  going  on,  in  and  under  the  soil,  is  not 


204         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

accompanied  by  any  waste  as  would  occur  were  the  decom- 
position to  be  completed  in  the  open  air,  and  when  carbonic 
acid  and  ammonia  would  be  produced,  and  being  gases, 
would  escape  into  the  atmosphere.  Moreover  if  this  green 
vegetable  matter  were  to  be  exposed  to  the  weather  during 
its  decomposition,  a  considerable  quantity  of  its  mineral  el- 
ements would  be  washed  out  and  wasted,  the  potash  for  in- 
stance would  be  almost  wholly  lost  in  this  way,  but  in  and 
under  the  soil  there  is  no  loss.  Hence  the  practice  of  green 
manuring,  or  of  the  use  of  any  green  vegetable  matter  in 
the  making  of  composts,  is  exceedingly  advantageous  to  the 
farmer,  and  greatly  assists  him  in  the  growth  of  large  crops. 

Some  of  the  results  from  which  these  advantages  accrue, 
are  as  follows: 

First. — Growing  plants,  especially  the  deeper  rooted  ones 
as  clover,  bring  up  from  the  deeper  soil  where  the  roots  of 
other  plants  cannot  reach  them,  several  substances  which 
are  useful  to  these  more  shallow  rooted  crops,  and  retain 
them  in  their  leaves,  stems  and  roots;  and  when  these  are 
plowed  under  the  surface,  they  contribute  these  acquisitions 
to  the  upper  soil  and  greatly  enrich  it.  Thus,  although 
nothing  may  be  gained  to  the  soil  but  what  is  taken  from 
it,  yet  the  gain  is  made  from  a  portion  of  the  soil  which 
could  not  be  reached  by  the  crops  to  be  benefited  by  it,  to 
the  portion  where  these  crops  can  reach  it.  Thus  it  results 
in  practically  largely  deepening  the  soil  and  extending  the 
growth  of  the  roots. 

Second. — This  manuring  is  effected  with  the  least  loss  and 
the  greatest  economy,  and  in  no  other  manner  can  the  same 
crop  carry  back  to  the  soil  an  equal  amount  of  fertilizing 
matter  as  in  that  of  its  growing  leaves  and  stems.  And  the 
farmer  will  sooner  and  more  cheaply  fertilize  his  land  by 
plowing  in  green  crops  than  by  any  other  method  whatever. 

The  selection  of  plants  to  be  grown  for  this  purpose  is  to 
be  made  from  among  those  which  grow  most  rapidly,  and 
which  produce  the  largest  amount  of  vegetable  matter  in 
the  shortest  time,  and  at  the  least  cost.  There  are  a  large 
number  of  plants  which  may  be  used  in  this  way. 


CROPS  FOR  GREEN  MANURING.  205^ 

Buckwheat  grows  rapidly,  and  two  crops  may  be  grown 
and  plowed  under  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  months.  It 
is  too  well  known  to  need  further  notice. 

Spurry  is  a  plant  not  much  known  in  America,  but  is 
extensively  used  in  Germany  for  this  purpose.  Three  crops 
may  be  grown  where  the  season  permits;  the  first  sowing 
may  be  made  in  May,  and  the  last  is  plowed  in  for  the  fol- 
lowing wheat  crop  in  September  or  October.  This  plant  is 
thus  Avell  adapted  for  this  use  in  the  Southern  States. 

White  Lupin  is  another  crop  largely  grown  in  Europe 
for  green  manure.  It  matures  in  less  than  120  days  and 
furnishes  10  to  12  tons  of  herbage.  It  is  particularly  rich 
in  nitrogen  and  belongs,  as  clover  does,  to  the  leguminous 
family  of  plants. 

Kape  and  Mustard  are  plants  of  the  cabbage  and  tur- 
nip tribe;  the  former  may  be  sown  in  the  fall  for  use  in  the 
spring;  the  latter  is  sown  in  the  spring. 

Rye  is  a  crop  of  considerable  value  for  this  use,  as  it  may 
be  sown  in  the  fall  and  plowed  in,  in  May;  and  then  fol- 
lowed by  two  crops  of  buckwheat  before  the  time  for  sow- 
ing fall  wheat  arrives.  No  other  crop  affords  so  much  veg- 
etable matter  in  the  period  of  its  growth,  at  so  little  cost 
and  at  such  an  early  season  as  this.  For  a  manure  for  a 
corn  crop  it  is  the  most  convenient,  for  these  reasons. 

Turnips  may  be  sown  in  August,  and  will  produce  10 
or  12  tons  of  green  matter  to  be  left  to  decay  on  the  surface 
and  then  be  plowed  under  in  the  spring.  This  crop  has 
been  used  with  advantage  in  the  summer  seeding  of  clover 
and  grass,  in  August,  for  the  purpose  of  being  left  during 
the  winter  for  the  protection  afforded  by  the  leaves,  and  in 
the  spring  for  the  manure  afforded  by  the  decaying  roots. 

Red  Clover  is  the  most  popular  green  manure  on  ac- 
count of  its  surpassing  richness  in  nitrogen,  yielding  from  a 
full  crop  as  much  as  180  pounds  of  this  element  to  the  acre. 
But  its  growth  is  slow,  and  it  is  only  the  second  years  crop 
which  can  be  used  for  this  purpose.  One  cutting  may  be 
made  in  June  for  hay,  and  the  second  growth  turned  under 
in  September  for  wheat.     Its  large,  fleshy,  solid,  tap  roots,. 


^06         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

furnish  a  very  large  quantity  of  rich  fertilizing  matter 
for  plowing  in.  The  character  of  clover  however  prevents 
it  from  being  used  for  the  improvement  of  poor  land.  Its 
use  is  better  adapted  for  the  manuring  of  soils  in  good  con- 
dition, and  as  a  substitute  for  barn  manure.  Land  has  been 
kept  in  the  most  productive  condition  by  the  use  of  this 
crop  alternating  with  wheat;  two  years  being  given  to  the 
clover  and  the  second  growth  of  the  second  year  being 
plowed  in  for  the  wheat;  gypsum  being  the  only  fertilizer  used. 
The  yield  of  wheat  on  this  land,  which  was  a  naturally  rich 
limestone  clay  loam  in  central  New  York,  during  over  40 
years,  averaged  40  bushels  per  acre. 

The  quantity  of  fertilizing  matter  added  to  the  soil  by  the 
various  crops  above  mentioned  is  given  in  the  following  table. 

of  drj-  matter 
ft         in  1000  lbs.         «3  03 

Plant.  -og  '   .S  ^  ^V        ^1  si  ^^^.^^l^^ 

«§       BS      oU  &§  8*^  best  fitted. 

Spuny 6500  199  21  14  inches  3  Dry,  sandy. 

White  lupin 25000  188  12  25  "  1  Any  kind. 

Buckwheat 8000  170  10  12  "  2  Dr>',  sandy  and  clay. 

Rape 16000  214  16  8  "  1  Rich  and  fertile. 

Rye 8000  221  16  8  "  1  All. 

Turnips 120C0  77  21  12  "  1  All. 

Clover 8000  250  14  25  "  3^  Fertile,  of  all  kinds. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  in  regard  to  the  practice 
of  green  manuring,  the  following  suggestions,  viz: 

That  a  sufficient  quantity  of  seed  should  be  sown  to  keep 
the  ground  well  covered  and  to  secure  as  large  a  yield  as 
possible,  with  the  most  effective  smothering  of  weeds. 

That  the  crop  should  be  plowed  under  at  the  time  when 
the  plants  are  about  to  burst  into  flower,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  the  most  advantage  from  their  condition  at  that 
time,  and  to  avoid  stocking  the  land  with  seeds. 

That  the  vegetable  matter  should  not  be  plowed  under 
more  than  4  or  5  inches,  and  that  it  should  be  completely 
covered  with  soil ;  using,  to  secure  this  end,  the  usual  chain 
loop  attached  to  the  beam  of  the  plow  and  the  end  of  the 
double  tree;  so  that  the  decomposition  of  the  matter  may  be 
rapid  and  perfect,  and  that  there  may  be  no  waste. 


COMPOSITION   OF   ROOTS   AND   STUBBLE.  207 

That  this  practice  is  adapted  for  the  improvement  of  all 
soils. 

It  is  a  common  practice  among  farmers  to  plow  under  a 
sod  of  grass  grown  for  the  purpose,  as  manure.  The  usual 
seeding  of  clover  and  timothy  is  thus  intended  fci^  breaking 
up  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  for  the  corn  crop.  It  will 
be  interesting  to  know  what  amount  of  fertilizing  matter  is 
thus  contributed  to  the  soil.  The  following  table  affords 
this  information. 

Amounts  and   Composition   of  Roots   and   Stubble 
OF  THE  Following  Crops. 

a  g  Nitrogen  in        Phasphoric           p  *    v, 

"^  a  organic  matter          acid.                rotasn, 

■S|  ^ . '  • . '  • . ' 

^^  per        per        per       per        per       per 

g  §  cent.     acre.  cent.     acre.  cent.     acre. 

g  >.  in  the  in  the 

£  -S  ash.  ash. 

Clover 6580  2.15        180          3.91         71  4.26       77 

Wheat 2240  0.68         22          1.08         11  1.70       17 

Eye 3400  1.26          62          1.55         24  1.90        30 

Oats 2200  0.71         25          2.08         28  1.48       24 

Timothy 1982  1.40         28.5         .03          6.5        .04         7.7 

Peas 2400  1.76         53.         2.24         14.  1.70       11.0 

Mixed  grasses  and  clover    5000  2.00       100         2.10        58  1.80       48. 

These  figures  Avill  probably  be  found  below  the  average 
of  what  are  called  good  crops.  For  it  has  been  found  that 
the  living  roots  and  stubble  of  a  four  year  old  sod  has  been 
equal  in  weight  to  one-sixth  more  than  the  weight  of  the 
last  years  crop.  Also,  that  in  an  old  pasture  or  meadow 
which  has  been  laid  down  for  many  years,  the  actual  vege- 
table matter  contributed  to  the  soil  has  been  ascertained  to 
be  equal  to  four  times  the  weight  of  the  last  years  vegeta- 
tion above  the  surface.  The  author  has  found  by  careful 
measurement  and  weight,  that  the  amount  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter contributed  to  the  soil  per  acre  by  turning  under  an  old 
grow^th  of  quack  grass,  (Tritieum  repens),  was  equivalent 
in  weight  and  bulk  to  80  tons  of  ordinary  stable  manure. 

"When  land  is  in  grass  for  a  number  of  years  there  is  a 
Tery  large  accumulation  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil  from 
these  sources,  viz:  the  contributions  from  the  atmosphere  of 
combined  carbon  and  nitrogen;  from  the  dead  and  decay- 
ing roots  and  stems  of  the  grass;  and  from  the  mineral  parts 


208         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

of  the  soil  which  is  favorably  affected  by  the  chemical  ac^ 
tion  of  the  decaying  vegetable  matter.  The  total  amount 
of  this  accumulation  is  not  accurately  known,  but  is  cer- 
tainly very  large.  And  when  the  grass  or  hay  from  the 
land  is  all  consumed  upon  the  farm,  and  the  manure  is  re- 
turned to  the  land,  the  soil  of  a  permanent  or  old  meadow 
becomes  exceedingly  rich  in  plant  food,  from  the  annual 
top  dressings  which  it  receives  naturally  from  the  decay  of 
the  leaves  anji  stems  and  of  the  matured  and  used  up  roots. 


THE   AKT   OF   COMPOSTING. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 
COMPOSTS. 

There  are  a  large  variety  of  substances  which  are  not  pre- 
cisely manures,  but  which  contain  more  or  less  of  valuable  fer- 
tilizing matter,  that  may  be  gathered  by  farmers,  and  mingled 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  induce  a  process  of  mutual  decomposi- 
tion by  Avhich  valuable  plant  food  may  be  procured.  The 
art  of  mingling  these  substances,  and  of  decomposing  them 
so  that  they  may  be  used  as  manure,  is  known  as  compost- 
ing. It  is  not  much  practiced  in  America,  because  farmers 
have  scarcely  been  brought  as  yet  to  the  point  of  exercising 
the  strictest  economy  in  this  respect;  but  the  time  has  come 
when  every  available  opportunity  for  gathering  fertilizing 
matters  and  converting  them  into  food  for  cropSj  must  be 
strictly  and  perseveringly  sought  and  seized.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  are,  peat;  seaweed;  salt  marsh  mud;  leaves 
and  the  undergrowth  of  woods  and  forests;  the  waste  from 
tanneries,  consisting  of  the  fleshings,  hair,  tan  bark,  and 
leather  scraps;  the  waste  from  cider  mills;  from  breweries; 
from  starch  and  sugar  factories;  from  fish  packing  estab- 
lishments; from  oil  mills;  sweepings  of  the  streets  of  cities 
and  towns;  ashes  of  various  kinds;  wastes  from  slaughter 
houses;  and  in  fact  any  waste  matter  which  can  be  decom- 
posed by  the  ordinary  processes  which  the  farmer  can  em- 
ploy. 

To  facilitate  the  consideration  of  this  interesting  subject, 
and  before  proceeding  to  describe  the  process  of  composting 
the  various  materials  and  reducing  them  to  a  fit  condition 
for  use,  the  following  table  of  analyses  of  the  various  mat- 
ters referred  to  may  be  studied. 


210 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


Composition  of  Various  Materials  for  Composts. 
Dried  at  212°  Fahr. 


Substances  100  lbs. 


Lobster  shells 7.27 

Swamp  muck 34.40 

Salt  mud 46.36 

Bone  black  waste.. 10.65 

Fish  packers  waste 71.11 

Starch  waste 8.10 

Rotted  Brewers  grains 78.77 

Refuse  hops 81.00 

Tobacco  stems 10.65 

Apple  pomace 82.00 

Cotton  seed  meal 9.90 

Ash  of  salt  marsh  grass. 

"      forest  leaves 

"      ferns 

"     potato  tops 

"     beet  sugar  cake... 

"      grape  skins 

"      seaweeds 

' '      Cotton  seed  hulls ' 

"  hardwood  (pure) 

"  "    (leached) 

•'     Softwood 

"     Corncobs 

"     Tan  bark 

"     Soft  coal 

"     Hard  coal 

The  above  table  offers  a 


22.24 
1.24 


.18 
.26 
.27 
3.39 
.19 
.22 
3.7 
25.8 
8.3 
5.5 
2.5 
2.1 
16.4 
11.63 
13.34 
70.0 
74.0 
32.0 
20.0 
41.0 
5.0 
2.50 


1.30 
.29 


.15 
.10 
1.12 
.16 
.56 
2.9 
1.7 
4.5 
2.7 
0.5 
1.0 
11.2 
15.24 


.16 
.04 
.11 
7.22 
.87 
1.21 
23.1 
3.0 
25.2 
2.3 
3.6 
8.0 
17.1 
38.82 
24.16 
12.25 
1.60 
12.0 
45.0 
2.50 
.20 
.10 


3.52 

.23 

.15 

29.64 

.60 

.29 

.43 

.20 

.51 

.10 

1.26 

4.7 

3.4 

5.7 

1.0 

1.2 

3.4 

3.7 

13.67 

10.69 

6.0 

6.80 

4.0 

4.50 

1.20 

.14 

1.05 


^  > 


4.50 
1.64 


2.21 
2.62 
.72 
.98 
2.65 
1.24 
3.73 


22.0 
5.0 
1.75 

23.70 
4..5S 
9.3:] 
2.91 
3.62 

14.66 
5.09 

15.00 


50.30 
39.00 
20.00 
10.40 
16.80 
50.00 
4.60 
.40 
.16 


to   the   value  of  the 
It  gives  a  basis  for 


guide  as 
above  substances  to  a  partial  extent, 
calculating  the  precise  value  of  the  fertilizing  elements  men- 
tioned in  a  ton,  or  a  load  of  each;  but  it  does  not  give  any 
clue  to  the  other  valuable  properties  of  these  substances  in 
the  way  of  their  mechanical  or  chemical  effect  upon  the 
other  materials  of  the  compost,  and  upon  the  soil,  after  the 
compost  has  been  used. 

From  what  has  been  previously  said  upon  these  effects,  it 
will  be  readily  perceived  that  they  must  be  considerable,  and 
that  the  addition  to  the  soil  of  a  large  quantity  of  any  of 
these  materials  with  the  other  portions  of  the  compost,  mu.st 
be  of  very  great  value.  Indeed  a  few  years  of  the  use  of 
such  composts  to  the  land  has  very  much  changed  its  char- 


J 


FERMENTATION   OF   THE    COMPOST  211 

acter,  and  has  not  only  added  much  to  its  natural  fertility, 
but  it  has  developed  this  to  a  remarkable  extent. 

In  making  composts,  the  bulk  of  the  materials  are  inert 
and  may  not  readily  decay.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to 
add  to  the  mass  something  which  may  act  as  a  ferment,  and 
by  which  the  necessary  chemical  action  to  effect  decomposi- 
tion may  be  started. 

Linle  is  usually  employed  for  this  purpose;  but  at  times 
fermenting  manure  is  used;  and  sometimes  both  manure  and 
lime  are  employed.  The  process  is  as  follow^s.  The  various 
materials,  some  wet  and  some  dry — but  the  bulk  of  them  are 
wet,  so  that  the  dry  substance  may  be  saturated  with  mois- 
ture, and  chiefly  the  whole  are  wet — are  placed  in  layers 
of  several  inches  thick  and  roughly  mixed  together.  The 
lime  or  the  manure,  is  mixed  in  layers  through  the  mass;  or 
at  times  the  mixture  is  more  perfectly  made;  and  the  heap 
is  built  up  compactly,  and  well  trodden,  into  a  square  flat 
form;  having  the  top  somewhat  shallow  to  catch  and  retain 
the  rain  water. 

Fermentation  soon  begins  and  spreads  through  the  mass. 
The  organic  matter  decays  with  more  or  less  rapidity,  and 
the  earthy  matter  or  the  peat  in  the  heap,  absorbs 
any  ammonia  that  may  be  formed  and  holds  it  firmly; 
or  the  sulphuric  acid  that  may  be  liberated  in  the 
decomposition  Avill  combine  with  it  and  form  a  stable 
compound.  When  the  heat  has  spread  through  the 
whole  mass,  the  heap  is  turned  and  again  mixed,  by  begin- 
ning at  one  end  and  forking  or  shoveling  it  over  and  form- 
ing a  new  heap  similar  to  the  original  one.  The  exposure 
to  the  air  and  the  fresh  mingling  of  the  substances,  soon 
produce  a  new  fermentation  and  heat  by  which  the  mass  is 
still  more  decomposed,  and  the  nitrification  made  more  com- 
plete. In  a  few  months — and  sooner  in  the  summer — the 
compost  becomes  a  homogeneous  mass,  dark  in  color  and 
without  any  appearance  of  the  raw  materials  of  it  by  which 
they  could  be  recognized.  It  is  now  manure,  and  in  pro- 
portion to  the  character  of  the  materials  that  have  been  used, 
it  is  equal  to,  or  better  in  quality,  than  ordinary  farm  manure. 


212         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

When  materials  rich  in  the  elements  of  plant  food  are 
used,  such  as  swamp  muck;  sea  weed;  cotton  seed;  wood 
ashes;  and  lime;  the  resulting  compost  will  have  a  value  far 
exceeding  that  of  barn  yard  manure,  and  will  be  propor- 
tionately effective  in  producing  large  crops.  In  this  way 
the  farmer  may  very  largely  extend  the  manurial  resources 
of  his  farm  at  little  expense,  and  by  the  expenditure  of  a 
moderate  amount  of  labor  at  such  times  when  other  work 
IS  not  pressing. 

Composts  are  used  mostly  for  top  dressing,  on  account  of 
their  finely  pulverized  and  concentrated  condition,  and  be- 
cause of  the  solubility  of  the  plant  food  they  contain.  They 
are  used  for  meadows,  and  for  grain  crops  in  their  early 
stages  of  growth ;  and  are  especially  useful  for  roots,  which 
require  a  large  quantity  of  manure  rich  in  available  plant 
food.  But  a  heap  of  well  decomposed  compost  will  never 
come  amiss  for  any  crop,  at  any  time,  when  the  farmer 
may  want  to  get  the  best  return  for  his  labor. 


MINERAL  MANURES. 


CHAPTER    XXXII.     , 

MINERAL  MANURES. 

Although  the  mineral  parts  of  plants — the  ash — form  a 
very  small  proportion  of  their  substance,  yet  they  are  indis- 
pensable to  their  growth.  Without  silica,  the  corn  or  wheat 
plant  could  not  stand  erect,  but  would  lie  upon  the  ground; 
without  lime  and  phosphoric  acid,  there  could  be  no  seed, 
and  vegetable  substance  could  not  support  any  animal.  The 
mineral  elements  of  plant  substance,  in  fact,  form  the  skel- 
eton or  frame  so  to  speak,  upon  which  the  organic  matter 
is  built;  just  as  the  bones  of  an  animal  support  the  fibrous 
and  vascular  tissue  which  make  up  the  apparent  structure* 
Some  plants  indeed  are  so  well  supplied  with  mineral  matter 
that  their  remains  after  the  organic  matter  has  decayed  and 
has  been  dissolved  away,  make  the  most  delicate  and  beau- 
tiful tissue,  w^hich  remains  intact  after  thousands  of  years  dur- 
ing which  vast  masses  of  these  skeletons  or  shells  have  beea 
consolidated  into  clay  or  stone.  Being  thus  indispensable 
to  the  growth  of  plant  substance,  the  mineral  elements  of 
plant  food  bear  a  most  important  relation  to  the  culture  of 
farm  crops,  and  furnish  a  subject  of  study  to  the  farmer 
which  he  cannot  ignore. 

Knowing  what  mineral  substances  are  contained  in  plants, 
and  knowing  that  these  are  all  derived  from  the  soil;  also 
knowing  that  while  the  soil  contains  a  large  amount  of  all 
these  mineral  substances,  they  are  not  in  an  available  con- 
dition for  the  food  of  plants,  it  is  not  difficult  to  arrive  at  a 
conclusion  in  regard  to  w^hat  must  be  supplied  to  the  soil  to 
ensure  a  satisfactory  growth  of  crops. 

Moreover,  it  has  been  learned  by  long  experience  and 
careful  experiment  that  certain  alkaline  substances  exert  a 
remarkable  effect  upon  organic  substances  in  the  soil,  when 
they  are  brought  into  contact  with  each  other;  and  further 
that  they  have  a  very  intimate  relation  with  various  changes 


214         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

which  occur  in  the  character  of  many  mineral  compounds 
in  the  soil,  by  which  these  are  fitted  to  act  as  nutriment  for 
plants.  So  that,  on  the  whole,  mineral  manures  or  fertiliz- 
ers are  of  quite  as  great  importance  to  the  farmer  as  the 
other  classes  of  manures,  and  should  be  equally  well  under- 
stood. 

The  most  important  of  the  mineral  manures  are  lime; 
gypsum;  wood  ashes;  salt;  phosphate  of  lime;  potash;  and 
guano.  In  these  are  contained  every  inorganic  element  of 
plant  substance  that  is  ever  necessary  for  the  growth  of 
crops.  Lime  is  the  most  important  of  them,  not  because  it 
is  any  more  requisite  or  indispensable  than  the  others,  but 
because  of  its  peculiar  effects  upon  the  soil,  and  the  large 
proportion  of  it  which  enters  into  the  structure  of  vegetable 
tissue. 

Lime,  as  has  been  explained  in  the  description  of  the  me- 
tallic element  calcium,  is  never  found  naturally  excepting 
in  a  state  of  combination,  and  mostly  as  a  carbonate,  con- 
sisting of  43.7  per  cent  of  carbonic  acid  with  56.3  per  cent^ 
of  its  own  substance. 

Carbonate  of  lime  is  one  of  the  most  common  of  the  rocks 
and  is  best  known  in  the  form  of  marble.  It  is  frequently 
combined  with  carbonate  of  magnesia,  which  consists  of 
61.7  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid  and  48.3  per  cent,  of  mag- 
nesia. The  carbonate  of  magnesia  is  combined  in  varying 
proportions  with  the  carbonate  of  lime,  and  sometimes  some 
alumina  and  phosphoric  acid  are  mingled  with  these.  When 
the  magnesia  and  alumina  are  in  excess,  the  lime  has  the 
property  of  setting  hard  under  water  and  is  known  as  hy- 
draulic or  water  lime.  This  class  of  lime  is  useless,  if  not 
injurious,  for  agricultural  purposes.  Lime  is  procured  by 
calcination,  in  kilns,  of  the  limestone;  in  which  process  the 
carbonic  acid  is  driven  oif  and  the  caustic  or  quick  lime  re- 
mains. 2000  lbs.  of  limestone  yields  1126  lbs.  of  quick  lime, 
and  increases  about  one-third  in  bulk.  Its  affinity  for  wa- 
ter and  carbonic  acid  is  very  active;  in  a  moist  atmosphere 
or  by  mixture,  it  absorbs  about  one-third  its  weight  of  wa- 
ter, (9  lbs.  for  every  28)  swells  to  three  times  its  original 


THE   USE   OF   LIME.  215 

bulk,  and  falls  into  an  extremely  fine  dry  caustic  powder, 
which  is  hydrate  of  lime.  This  is  a  true  chemical  combi- 
nation and  is  accompanied  by  much  heat,  sufiicient  to  in- 
flame wood.  It  also  slowly  absorbs  carbonic  acid,  from  the 
atmosphere  until  it  regains  the  normal  quantity,  when  it 
becomes  carbonate  of  lime  again  andjoses  its  caustic  burn- 
ing or  decomposing  property. 

Lime  is  used  as  a  manure  in  its  caustic  or  quick  condi- 
jtion,  and  in  the  form  of  the  fine,  dry,  pulverulent,  hydrate. 
It  is  then  spread  over  the  land  at  the  rate  of  20  to  50  bush- 
els per  acre.  It  is  prepared  for  use  by  leaving  the  fresh 
lime  in  heaps  in  the  field  exposed  to  the  air  and  to  the  rain, 
until  it  has  absorbed  the  requisite  quantity  of  moisture,  and 
is  then  spread  evenly  with  a  long  handled  shovel.  A  very 
convenient  way  is  to  drop  the  lime  in  heaps  of  one  bushel 
at  distances  of  2  rods — 33  feet — apart;  which  is  equal  to  40 
bushels  per  acre.  It  is  then  easily  scattered  with  the  long 
handled  shovel,  I65  feet  each  way  from  each  heap,  which 
makes  an  even  distribution  over  the  land. 

Lime  is  thus  used  when  the  land  is  sown  with  wheat  in 
the  fall,  and  grass  and  clover  seed  are  to  be  sown  in  the 
spring.  It  is  spread  over  the  land  after  the  manure  has 
been  plowed  in  and  the  surface  has  been  harrowed  once;  the 
seed  is  then  sown  and  harrowed  in  with  the  lime  or  drilled 
in,  in  the  usual  manner.  Sometimes  lime  is  used  in  the 
spring  when  a  grass  or  clover  sod  is  plowed  under  for  corn. 
The  results  are  the  same  in  both  cases. 

When  lime  is  thus  applied  to  the  land  it  has  the  follow- 
ing effects. 

First — It  affords  direct  nutriment  to  the  crop,  being  so 
finely  divided  and  soluble  in  water — to  the  extent  of  one 
part  in  700  of  cold  water  and  one  part  in  1100  of  hot  wa- 
ter— it  is  readily  taken  up  by  the  water  of  the  soil  and  is  car- 
ried into  the  roots  of  plants  and  circulated  through  their  tis- 
sues, where  it  is  deposited,  by  the  escape  of  the  water  in  a 
pure  state,  and  free  from  the  lime,  through  the  leaves. 

Second. — It  exerts  a  very  strong  decomposing  action  up- 
on all  organic  substances,  rapidly  reducing  them  to  their 


216  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

elements  and  preparing  them  for  plant  food.  Its  action  in 
freshly  manured  soil,  to  which  it  is  usually  applied,  is  there- 
fore of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the  crop ;  this  action  going 
on  slowly  in  the  soil  and  providing  a  continuous  supply  of 
nutriment  for  the  crops. 

Third. — It  exerts  a  peculiar  action  as  a  nitrifying  agent 
in  the  soil  by  which  nitric  acid  is  produced,  and  by  its  com- 
bination with  this  acid  as  a  nitrate,  by  which  the  acid  is 
fixed  and  retained  in  the  soil,  to  be  afterwards  taken  up  by 
the  potash  or  other  alkaline  substances,  and  finally  absorbed 
as  food  for  the  crops;  and  thus  become  a  most  important 
source  of  the  nitrogen  found  in  the  plants. 

Fourth. — It  exerts  a  strong  solvent  action  upon  the  sili- 
cates in  the  soil,  by  which  inert  and  insoluble  combinations 
of  silica  with  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  &c.,  are  broken  up; 
and  these  foods  for  plants  are  made  available  for  the  crops. 

Fifth. — Its  strongly  alkaline  properties  neutralize  what- 
ever injurious  acids  may  exist  in  the  soil;  and  these  are  ren- 
dered innoxious,  or  in  many  cases  beneficial  to  the  growth 
of  crops. 

Sixth. — It  has  a  most  beneficial  mechanical  action  upon 
all  soils;  loosening,  and  mellowing,  and  warming,  heavy 
cold  clays;  and  compacting  and  making  more  retentive  of 
moisture  light  sands;  and  converting  cold  peaty  soils  into 
warm  vegetable  mold  and  fitting  them  for  arable  purposes. 
In  addition  to  these  most  useful  properties,  lime  has  a  direct 
beneficial  action  upon  the  growth  of  wheat  and  other  grains, 
but  especially  upon  grass  and  clover;  the  latter  crop  grow- 
ing most  luxuriantly  whenever  lime  has  been  applied  to  the 
land. 

Marl,  is  an  impure  form  of  carbonate  of  lime.  It  is 
frequently  found  underlying  swamps,  or  in  low  grounds 
which  are  the  dried  up  beds  of  former  lakes  or  ponds  in 
which  minute  shell  fish — or  more  correctly  molluscs — have 
existed.  The  shells  of  thousands  of  generations  of  these 
creatures  have  been  collected  at  the  bottom  of  the  ponds; 
and  have  formed  beds  of  considerable  depth;  leaving  amass 
of  white  pulverulent  clayey  matter  intermingled  with  shells 


GYPSUM   OR   PLASTER.  217 

more  or  less  broken,  and  compacted  into  a  firm  substance, 
which  falls  on  exposure  to  the  air  into  a  coarse  white  pow- 
der. This  substance  is  of  considerable  value.  It  may  be 
burned  into  a  fair  quality  of  lime,  when  it  is  of  juse  for  the 
same  purposes  as  stone  lime.  Or  it  may  be  spread  on  the 
land  after  it  has  dried  and  become  pulverized,  as  a  substi- 
tute for  lime,  with  considerable  benefit. 

Shell  Lime,  procured  by  burning  the  shells  of  oysters 
and  other  marine  animals,  has  every  useful  property  that 
stone  lime  possesses;  and  as  the  lime  is  pure,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  quantity  of  phosphoric  acid — which  is 
valuable — this  form  of  lime  becomes  a  most  important  source 
of  supply  to  farmers  near  the  sea  coast  or  on  the  shores  of 
the  large  tidal  rivers. 

Limestone,  ground  into  fine  powder,  has  been  ofifered  to 
farmers  as  a  fertilizer  of  late  years;  but  its  almost  insoluble 
character  renders  it  of  questionable  value,  as  compared  with 
lime,  which  can  be  procured  at  less  cost  because  it  needs  no 
grinding.  Ground  limestone  is  soluble  only  in  water  con- 
taining considerable  carbonic  acid  in  solution,  and  then  on- 
ly to  a  small  extent.  Its  value  in  special  cases  may  be  such 
as  to  make  its  use  desirable;  but  experimental  tests  are  al- 
ways required  to  discover  its  usefulness.  No  general  rule 
can  be  given  in  regard  to  it,  excepting  that  its  value  is 
wholly  disproportionate  to  its  cost,  as  compared  with  any 
other  form  of  lime. 

Gypsum,  is  a  compound  of  lime,  sulphuric  r.cid,  and  wa- 
ter, in  the  proportion  of  322,  462,  and  21  qarts  of  each,  re- 
spectively. Its  remarkable  action  upon  some  crops,  as 
clover;  peas;  corn;  cabbages;  and  turnips;  has  led  to  some 
erroneous  notions  as  to  the  causes  of  this  action,  and  the  er- 
rors have  been  unfortunately  fostered  to  some  extent  by 
inexperienced  writers  upon  agricultural  topics.  These 
erroneous  views  are  chiefly  as  follows. 

That  gypsum  gathers  ammonia  from  the  air  and  thus  con- 
tributes this  useful  substance  to  the  plants. 

That  it  gathers  moisture  from  the  air  and  furnishes  it  to 


218         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  crops  during  a  dry  season,  when  the  supply  in  the  soil 
may  be  inadequate. 

That  it  is  a  stimulant  to  plant  growth  and  thus  tends  to 
exhaust  the  soil. 

These  errors  are  very  evident  when  the  character  of  this 
substance  is  understood. 

First. — While  gypsum  in  solution  enters  into  a  combina- 
tion with  carbonate  of  ammonia  and  is  decomposed  by  it, 
with  the  result  of  the  formation  of  sulphate  of  ammonia  and 
carbonate  of  lime,  it  has  no  more  affinity  for  ammonia  than 
the  water  of  the  atmosphere  has,  and  whatever  ammonia  is 
derived  from  the  atmosphere  by  plants  through  the  rain 
water,  is  carried  into  the  soil  and  from  thence  by  the  water 
into  the  roots  of  the  plants.  Hence  there  is  no  necessity  for 
the  use  of  gypsum  in  the  performance  of  this  nutritive  func- 
tion of  plants. 

Second. — That  gypsum  does  not  absorb  water,  having 
already  in  combination  as  much  as  it  can  take  up. 

Third. — That  plants  cannot  be  stimulated  into  excessive 
growth  by  any  one  substance;  but  when  any  necessary  nu- 
tritive element  is  deficient,  the  crop  suffers  and  only  gains 
its  natural  luxuriance  when  the  absent  element  is  supplied. 

Fourth. — The  peculiar  effect  of  gypsum  upon  the  growth 
of  crops  containing  a  large  proportion  of  nitrogen,  is  due  to 
the  contribution  of  sulphuric  acid  by  it;  the  sulphur  being 
required  to  form  the  nitrogenous  compounds  known  as  al- 
buminoids; all  of  which  contain  a  notable  proportion  of 
sulphur. 

Thus  the  albumen,  gluten,  and  legumin,  of  plants,  are 
made  up  of  nearly  the  same  proportions  of  carbon,  hydro- 
gen, oxygen,  nitrogen,  and  sulphur;  and  without  the  sul- 
phur these  nitrogenous  compounds  could  not  be  formed. 
And  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  plants  which  contain  most  abun- 
dantly these  nitrogenous  compounds,  are  largely  benefited  in 
their  growth  'by  the  use  of  gypsum. 

Gypsum  is  easily  dissolved  in  400  times  its  weight  of  wa- 
ter, and  hence  the  small  quantity — rarely  exceeding  100  lbs. 
per  acre —  usually  applied  is  very  quickly  carried  into  the 


PHOSPHATE   OF    LIME.  219 

roots  of  plants — but  never  through  their  leaves — and  thus 
exerts  its  notable  effect.  If  reference  is  made  to  the  table 
in  which  the  composition  of  the  ash  of  plants  is  given,  it 
will  be  seen  that  red  clover,  the  grasses,  white  clover,  and 
other  leguminous  plants;  and  cabbage,  turnips,  rape,  mus- 
tard, and  other  plants  of  the  cabbage  or  cruciferse  tribe;  all 
contain  a  large  amount  of  sulphur  and  sulphuric  acid  in 
their  ash.  Thus  is  most  clearly  explained  the  peculiarly 
favorable  results  of  an  application  of  gypsum — 100  lbs.  of 
which  convey  to  the  soil  46*  lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid. 

Wood  Ashes,  containing  as  they  do  all  the  inorganic 
elements  of  plants  in  a  condition  in  w^hich  these  are  readily 
appropriated,  necessarily  make  a  most  effective  manure,  and 
are  useful  to  all  crops  and  upon  all  kinds  of  soils  that  are  in 
a  proper  condition  to  bear  crops.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say 
further  than  this  in  regard  to  them. 

Phosphate  of  Lime,  exists  naturally  in  the  form  of  an 
abundant  rock  and  is  widely  dispersed  through  the  soil.  It 
also  exists  in  vast  beds,  chiefly  in  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina near  the  coast  and  along  the  banks  of  the  tidal  rivers 
in  the  form  of  remains  of  marine  animals  which  have  ex- 
isted in  past  ages.  This  substance  is  used  in  its  raw  state 
finely  ground,  and  is  known  in  commerce  as  Charleston 
floats — from  the  locality  where  it  is  chiefly  dug  and  manu- 
factured. In  this  condition  it  is  slowly  soluble  and  has 
been  found  to  exert  a  favorable  effect  upon  such  crops  as  it 
has  been  applied  to,  chiefly  those  however  which  are  grown 
for  their  seed,  as  cotton;  corn;  wheat;  and  other  grains.  It 
is  of  most  importance  however  in  regard  to  its  use  for  the 
manufacture  of  super  phosphate  of  lime — to  be  hereafter 
described.  In  the  form  of  "floats"  it  is  used  at  the  rate  of 
about  1000  lbs.  per  acre.  These  floats  are  ground  as  fine  as 
flour,  and  although  practically  insoluble  in  pure  water,  are 
dissolved  to  some  extent  by  water  containing  various  acids, 
more  especially  carbonic  acid,  which  acts  upon  the  lime  and 
so  releases  the  phosphoric  acid.  This  form  of  phosphate  of 
lime  contains  from  24  to  49  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid, 
and  the  low  price  at  which  it  is  sold  and  the  favorable  me^ 


220         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

chanical  condition  in  which  it  is  offered  for  sale,  render  it 
of  considerable  interest  to  farmers. 

Potash  Salts,  form  one  of  the  most  important  sources 
from  which  potash  manures  are  derived.  They  are  pro- 
cured from  the  German  salt  mines  and  are  largely  imported 
into  this  country  and  sold  at  a  low  price,  compared  with 
their  actual  fertilizing  value.  They  consist  of  varying  pro- 
portions of  potash  in  combination  as  sulphate,  and  chloride, 
with  similar  compounds  of  soda  and  magnesia.  They  are 
known  in  the  trade  as  muriate  (chloride)  of  potash,  sulphate 
of  potash,  and  kainite. 

MuriAte  of  Potash  is  the  most  valuable  of  these  salts 
as  regards  its  contents  of  potash;  but  the  excess  of  chlorine 
contained  in  it  is  believed  to  be  injurious  to  some  crops; 
while  it  is  preferable  for  others  which  require  this  element 
in  considerable  quantity.  It  contains  on  the  average  50 
per  cent,  of  potash  with  some  soda  and  magnesia,  and  at  the 
common  price  of  about  $40  per  ton,  the  potash  in  it  costs 
about  4  cents  a  pound  which  makes  it  the  cheapest  source 
of  this  material. 

Sulphate  of  Potash,  is  a  more  popular  form  of  these 
salts,  and  contains  about  35  per  cent,  of  potash.  The  sul- 
phuric acid  contained  in  it  is  also  valuable,  and  any  excess 
of  it  in  the  salts  is  quickly  combined  with  other  alkaline 
matter  in  the  soil  and  rendered  useful,  which  is  not  the  case 
with  the  chlorine  of  the  muriate.  Hence  the  sulphate  bears 
a  higher  proportionate  price  in  the  market,  and  the  potash 
in  it  costs  nearly  7  cents  per  pound.  A  lower  grade  of  sul- 
phate of  potash  contains  25  per  cent,  of  potash,  with  consid- 
erable sulphate  of  magnesia;  the  potash  in  this  form  costs 
nearly  7  cents  a  pound. 

Kainite,  is  the  name  given  to  the  inferior  grades  of  these 

salts.     A  sample  of  a  lot  used  by  the  author  with  excellent 

results  on  grass,  fodder  corn,  and  turnips,  had  the  following 

composition,  viz: 

Water... 2.15 percent. 

Lime 82 

Magnesia 11.30       " 

Potash 16.48 

Sulphuric  acid 21.91       " 


THE    VALUE   OF   SALT.  221 

The  potash  in  it,  at  the  price  of  $14  per  ton,  cost,  without 
allowance  for  ihe  sulphuric  acid,  a  little  more  than  4  cents 
per  pound. 

Salt,  is  the  only  form  of  soda  which  is  used  as  manure ; 
and  this  because  of  its  cheapness.  As  it  can  be  purchased 
at  about  $6  per  ton  and  contains  but  few  impurities,  it  is  a 
cheap  manure  for  the  return  given.  Some  farmers  have 
found  no  benefit  from  its  use,  but  others  have  a  high  opin- 
ion of  it.  Crops  such  as  mangels  and  beets,  whose  ash  con- 
tains much  soda,  would  naturally  seem  to  be  much  benefited 
by  it,  upon  general  principles,  and  this  expectation  is  con- 
firmed by  the  results.  600  lbs.  per  acre  of  salt  has  greatly 
benefited  this  crop  as  grown  by  the  author,  and  a  dressing 
of  500  lbs.  per  acre  has  been  found  useful  to  wheat,  grass, 
and  clover.  A  mixture  of  100  lbs.  of  salt  and  100  lbs.  of 
gypsum  per  acre  on  one  half  of  a  timothy  and  clover  field, 
had  a  most  favorable  effect;  the  whole  field  of  13  acres 
yielded  27 ?  tons  of  hay  at  the  first  cutting;  the  dressed  half 
gave  17  tons  and  the  other  half  10  2.  The  difference  was 
very  apparent  and  was  equally  so  at  the  second  cutting, 
when  the  dressed  half  gave  9  tons  and  the  other  half  was 
not  thought  worth  cutting.  A  flock  of  sheep  pastured  on 
the  aftermath  gave  their  whole  attention  to  the  part  which 
had  been  dressed,  and  spent  but  little  time  on  the  other 
part.  The  following  year  the  field  was  in  corn  and  was 
dressed  with  the  same  mixture  of  salt  and  gypsum  with 
manifest  benefit. 

Salt  has  been  used  as  a  manure  from  the  earliest  histori- 
cal periods,  and  this  fact  alone  would  give  great  weight  to 
the  prevalent  belief  in  its  value,  although  no  doubt  many 
extravagant  claims  have  been  made  for  it.  It  has  been 
used  for  all  crops,  but  more  especially  for  wheat,  barley,  po- 
tatoes, grass,  turnips,  and  mangels.  Its  effect  on  the  grain 
crops  is  to  stiffen  the  straw  and  produce  a  thin  clear  husk; 
the  latter  is  especially  valuable  with  barley,  and  increases 
its  market  value  for  malting  and  brewing.  Wheat  is  also 
much  improved  in  the  same  respects. 

It  has  been  used  for  top  dressing  grass  lands  by  English 


222  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

farmers  with  marked  benefit  on  tliin  liglit  soils,  adding  more 
than  one  ton  of  hay  per  acre  to  the  usual  yield  of  2?  tons. 
This  fact,  considering  that  England  is  surrounded  by  tha 
ocean,  and  no  part  of  it  is  beyond  the  influences  of  the  moist 
winds  which  come  over  the  sea,  effectually  disposes  of  the 
objection  that  salt  is  of  no  value  upon  land  subject  to  the 
influences  of  the  sea  air.  No  doubt  there  are  many  cases 
in  which  no  good  results  have  been  derived  from  the  use  of 
salt.  But  this  may  be  taken  as  a  proof  that  the  land  in 
such  cases  has  been  already  fully  supplied  with  it  and  that 
some  other  kind  of  plant  food  was  needed. 

A  very  interesting  experiment  to  show  whether  the  soil 
<;ontains  salt  in  any  appreciable  quantity  may  be  made  as 
follows :  one  pound  of  the  soil  is  taken  in  dry  weather  and 
washed  with  a  pint  of  distilled,  or  pure  rain  water.  The 
water  is  filtered  through  unsized  or  blotting  paper  and  the 
clear  liquid  is  collected  in  a  clean  glass  bottle.  If  salt  is 
present  in  the  water,  a  white  precipitate  will  be  thrown 
down  on  the  addition  to  it  of  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver 
Every  10  grains  of  the  dried  precipitate  represents  4  grains 
of  salt  in  the  pound  of  soil  tested.  If  a  pound  of  soil  yield 
one  grain  of  salt,  it  will  be  equal  to  500  lbs.  upon  an  acre 
12  inches  deep.  If  no  more  than  this  is  contained  in  the 
^oil,  it  will  be  very  safe  to  conclude  that  salt  may  be  use- 
fully applied  to  it. 

Guano,  may  properly  be  classed  among  mineral  man- 
ures; for  although  it  has  been  supposed  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  droppings  of  sea  birds  upon  the  islands  where 
it  has  been  procured,  yet  it  is  quite  certain  that  some  of  the 
guanos  imported  and  used  as  manure  are  of  mineral  origin 
although  perhaps  it  has  been — like  coal — derived  from  or- 
ganic matter.  The  composition  of  guano  varies  considera- 
bly. Formerly  the  best  guano  brought  from  Peru  and  the 
adjacent  islands,  contained  as  much  as  17  or  18  per  cent,  of 
ammonia,  and  from  30  to  45  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime; 
and  was  sold  at  the  high  price  of  $150  to  $200  per  ton.  The 
best  now  imported  has  only  from  7  to  10  per  cent,  of  am- 
monia and  25  to  30  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime;  while 


THE   VALUE   OF   MINEKAL   MANURES.  223 

the  phosphatic  guanos  are  almost  devoid  of  nitrogen  in  any 
form  and  contain  from  20  to  50  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of 
lime;  equivalent  to  about  half  as  much  phosphoric  acid. 
The  guanos  now  in  the  market  are  practically  phosphatic 
manures,  and  are  reduced  to  superphosphate  hf  means  of 
sulphuric  acid,  as  will  be  explained  in  the  next  chapter  un- 
der the  head  of  superphosphate  of  lime. 

All  these  mineral  manures  are  of  exceedingly  great  value 
for  the  culture  of  farm  crops;  so  much  so  that  no  farmer 
€an  afford  to  neglect  them.  They  furnish  plant  food  in  the 
most  available  form  and  when  used  with  skill  and  judgment 
return  a  large  profit  on  their  cost.  The  example  given  of 
the  production  of  15  tons  of  hay  by  the  use  of  600  lbs.  each 
of  salt  and  plaster  costing  less  than  $10  while  the  hay  was 
worth  at  that  time  $300  is  perhaps  an  unusually  favorable 
one ;  but  thousands  of  cases  are  on  record  in  which  the  use 
of  this  class  of  manures  has  returned  in  profit  several  times 
the  money  expended,  while  extra  labor  has  been  only  re- 
quired to  take  care  of  the  increased  harvest.  AVhen  an 
acre  of  land  is  made  to  produce  double  its  former  yield  by 
the  use  of  manures  liberally  applied,  the  cost  of  the  manure 
is  all  the  extra  charge;  the  land,  the  labor  in  preparing  it, 
and  in  the  culture  of  the  crop,  are  all  the  same  whether  the 
yield  be  10  bushels  of  wheat  or  40;  or  25  bushels  of  corn  or 
80.  The  enhanced  crop  then,  less  the  cost  of  the  manure, 
is  the  measure  of  the  profit. 


THE  CULTUEE  OF  FAE31   CHOPS. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

MANUFACTURED  MANURES. 

The  necessity  for  the  production  of  the  largest  possible 
crops  to  meet  the  exacting  competition  of  the  very  exten- 
sive and  fertile  grain  producing  regions  of  the  North-west, 
opened  by  the  trans-continental  railroads;  together  with  the 
general  depression  of  prices  of  agricultural  products  during 
several  years  past,  has  led  to  the  introduction  and  use  of  a 
variety  of  manufactured  maxiures;  commonly  called  artifi- 
cial fertilizers.  These  consist  chiefly  of  Superphosphate  of 
Lime,  made  from  bones,  either  raw  or  which  have  been 
boiled  to  extract  the  glue  from  them,  or  from  the  various 
mineral  phosphates;  the  so  called  Special  Fertilizers  or  com- 
plete manures,  prepared  for  particular  crops ;  Sulphate  of  Am- 
monia, a  waste  product  of  the  gas  manufacture;  Fish  Scrap 
or  Fish  Guano,  a  refuse  of  the  fish  oil  factories;  Dried  Blood 
and  Flesh;  Ground  Bone;  Wool  Waste;  Castor  Oil  Pom- 
ace; Leather  Waste;  Soot;  Cotton  Seed  Cake,  and  other 
oil  cakes;  all  of  which  furnish  a  very  large  amount  of  most 
valuable  plant  foqd  for  crops,  and  which  form  the  basis  of  a 
trade  at  present  amounting  to  many  million  dollars,  and 
rapidly  extending  and  increasing  in  value  and  importance 
to  the  farmers.  The  most  important  of  these  is 
Superphosphate  of  Lime. 

This  fertilizer  consists  of  phosphate  of  lime  in  the  form  of 
bones;  or  the  mineral  apatite;  or  the  organic  remains  of 
prehistoric  animals  which  are  found  buried  in  vast  quanti- 
ties near  the  sea  coast  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  and 
known  as  Charleston  phosphates;  which  are  treated  by  sul- 
phuric acid.  This  acid  decomposes  the  phosphate  of  lime, 
and  unites  with  a  portion  of  lime,  leaving  the  phosphoric 
acid  in  a  separated  and  soluble  condition.  The  discovery 
of  this  process  is  due  to  the  eminent  German  chemist  Liebig, 
who  was  led  to  it  by  a  series  of  investigations  in  regard  to 


SUPERPHOSPHATE   OF   LIME.  225 

the  cause  of  the  favorable  action  of  ground  bone  upon  cer- 
tain crops.  It  was  long  supposed  that  this  action  was  due 
to  the  organic  matter  of  the  bones,  and  it  was  not  then  sus- 
pected that  the  mineral  part  of  the  bones,  which  was  known 
to  consist  in  large  part  of  phosphoric  acid,  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  luxuriant  growth  of  grass  and  root  crops  to 
which  bones  were  applied.  The  experiments  of  Liebig 
proved  that  the  phosphoric  acid  was  really  the  most  impor- 
tant element  of  the  bones,  and  this  was  further  shown  by 
the  fact  that  burned  bones,  bone  ash,  or  "earth  of  bones," 
as  it  was  called,  exerted  a  very  marked  eifect  upon  crops- 
to  which  it  was  applied.  But  it  was  found  that  the  phos- 
phate of  lime,  both  as  it  existed  in  fresh  bones  and  in  the 
remains  of  extinct  animals,  was  too  slow  in  its  effects  and  a/ 
large  quantity  was  required  to  show  any  profitable  results. 
Hence  further  experiments  were  made  and  it  was  found 
that  when  the  ground  bones  were  digested  with  a  certain 
quiuitity  of  sulphuric  acid,  mixed  with  water,  they  became 
changed  in  character;  that  a  portion  of  the  lime  in  them 
was  dissolved  and  united  with  the  sulphuric  acid  forming  sul- 
phate  of  lime  or  gypsum,  leaving  a  double  portion  of  the 
phosphoric  acid  combined  with  the  remainder  of  the  lime. 
In  this  state,  the  phosphate  of  lime  or  the  phosphoric  acid 
in  it,  was  partly  soluble  in  water  and  still  more  so  in  acid- 
ulated water;  hence  this  double  phosphate  or  bi-phosphate 
of  lime  exerted  a  very  much  more  active  effect  upon  the 
crops  than  the  bones  did.  It  was  further  found  that  it  was 
possible  to  take  still  more  of  the  lime  from  the  bones,  leaving 
but  one- third  of  it  in  combination  with  the  phosphoric  acid, 
and  proportionately  increasing  the  ratio  of  the  acid;  the  re- 
sulting single  lime,  or  mono-calcic  or  treble  phosphate  being 
called  superphosphate  of  lime.  This  compound  is  soluble 
in  water,  and  hence  its  effects  are  still  more  active  than  the 
former  one  upon  crops  to  which  it  is  applied. 

But  in  effect,  this  form  of  phosphate  of  lime  is  unstable, 
and  easily  reverts  to  its  former  condition  by  combining 
again  with  lime  which  it  finds  in  the  soil,  or  with  iron  or 
other  bases,  and  thus  becomes  less  soluble. 


226  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

But  it  is  still  more  soluble  than  the  simple  natural  phos- 
phate and  is  therefore  more  available  as  plant  food. 

This  process  of  manufacture  is  carried  on  upon  a  large 
scale,  and  a  large  number  of  factories  are  now  in  operation 
•making  superphosphate,  either  from  raw  bones,  boiled  bones, 
or  bone  charcoal;  and  from  the  mineral  phosphates.  There 
is  no  difference  in  the  result  from  any  one  of  these  mater- 
ials so  far  as  the  phosphoric  acid  is  concerned,  this  is  the 
same  in  all;  but  the  raw  bone  contains  a  large  quantity  of 
organic  matter  containing  nitrogen,  hence  the  superphos- 
phate made  from  this  kind  of  bone  has  more  value  than  the 
other  kinds.  The  extent  of  the  manufacture  of  this  class 
of  fertilizers  may  be  realized  from  the  fact  that  more  than 
400  different  brands  of  it  were  analyzed  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Agricultural  department  in  1883. 

From  the  wide  field  thus  open  to  the  nefarious  purpose 
of  dishonest  persons,  the  manufacture  of  this  class  of  ferti- 
lizers is  placed  under  the  purview  and  control  of  the  va- 
rious State  governments  and  stringent  laws  have  been  enacted 
to  secure  honest  dealings  on  the  part  of  the  makers  of  these 
fertilizers.  That  this  is  necessary,  and  that  it  is  also  nec- 
essary for  farmers  to  look  closely  to  their  own  interests  in 
this  respect,  the  following  analyses  of  various  brands  of 
superphosphates  is  a  very  clear  proof 


Superphosphates  from 
Bon©  black  

o  e 

Claimed. 
.    18.00 
..     17.00 
..    17.00 
..    18.00 
..     17.00 
.,    31.00 
..    18.00 
.     13.00 
.     12.00 
.     13.00 
.     12.00 
.     15.00 
.    12.00 
.    12.00 

1 

Found. 

17.32 

12.75 

16.47 

10.93 

16.28 

28.92 

17.01 

8.76 

6.03 

7.07 

10..56 

13.36 

5.99 

5.26 

Cents. 
7.10 

8.3 

8.4 

„ 

7.7 

Bones 

8.6 
8.5 
7.8 

8.  Carolina  Rock 

6.9 

(1            i( 

10.5 
10.3 

..            •« 

6.7 

«                 a 

6.3 

<(                      u 

10.3 

u 

10.0 

REVERSION   OF   SUPERPHOSPHATE.  227 

Of  these  brands,  it  is  seen  some  cost  for  the  available 
phosphoric  acid  nearly  twice  as  much  as  others,  and  it  is  of 
course  requisite  that  great  circumspection  be  used  in  the 
purchase  of  these  costly  forms  of  plant  food. 

If  the  farmer  wish  to  do  so,  he  can  make  his  own  super- 
phosphate from  bones  in  the  following  manner.  A  wooden 
vat  is  provided  in  which  the  bones,  coarsely  broken  or 
ground  fine  as  the  case  may  be,  are  heaped  and  thoroughly 
wetted  with  water.  Sulphuric  acid  is  carefully  poured  up- 
on the  heap  of  bones,  and  a  strong  effervescence  at  once 
takes  place  accompanied  by  considerable  heat.  The  bone 
is  shoveled  over  to  keep  it  in  condition  to  be  acted  upon  by 
the  acid.  About  50  lbs,  of  acid  is  required  for  100  lbs.  of 
bones  to  make  a  complete  decomposition.  In  course  of  time 
the  bone  is  reduced  to  a  pasty  condition  when  it  may  be 
dried  by  the  addition  of  wood  ashes,  or  potash  salts,  and 
fish  scrap,  which  will  add  the  potash  and  nitrogen  to  the 
fertilizer  to  make  it  a  complete  manure  for  crops;  that  is 
one  that  contains  nitrogen  in  an  available  form,  soluble 
phosphoric  acid,  and  potash.  When  the  potash  salts  are 
used,  there  will  be  magnesia,  soda  and  chlorine  also  added. 

Superphosphate  of  lime  reverts  to  the  condition  of  bi- 
phosphate  or  ordinary  phosphate,  when  there  is  lime  in  the 
soil.  This  change  however  occurs  slowly  unless  the  lime  is 
in  excess,  when  the  present  use  of  the  phosphate  is  neutral- 
ized because  it  is  made  insoluble.  Hence  superphosphate 
should  never  be  used  when  the  land  is  limed. 

It  is  usually  applied  to  the  fall  grain  crops  in  quantities 
varying  from  200  to  400  lbs.  per  acre,  and  is  sown  by  means 
of  an  attachment  to  the  drill  which  drops  it  in  the  row  near 
the  seed,  and  thus  makes  it  immediately  available  for  the 
crop  in  its  early  stages  and  when  the  young  plants  need  an 
abundant  supply  of  food.  Or  it  is  sown  broadcast  as  soon 
as  the  seed  is  sown  and  both  are  harrowed  in  together,  when 
the  drill  is  not  used.  It  is  also  used  for  the  corn  crop  either 
dropped  in  the  hill  at  planting,  or  harrowed  in  before  plant- 
ing. From  its  soluble  character  it  shou«ld  be  brought  as 
near  the  seed  as  possible,  that  it  may  be  absorbed  by  the 


228         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

roots  as  soon  as  they  are  capable  of  foraging  in  the  soil  for 
their  food.  It  is  also  used  as  a  special  fertilizer  for  turnips, 
cabbages,  and  mangels;  upon  which  it  has  a  most  beneficial 
action.  It  is  used  for  these  crops  at  the  rate  of  from  300  to 
800  lbs.  per  acre,  according  to  the  necessities  of  the  soil. 
As  a  top  dressing  for  meadows  and  pastures  it  is  of  the 
greatest  use. 

This  is  readily  seen  when  it  is  remembered  that  young 
animals  are  fed  chiefly  on  grass  and  hay,  and  that  from 
this  food  they  must  build  up  the  solid  frame  upon  which 
the  fleshy  form  is  built  up.  As  more  than  half  the  sub- 
stance of  bone  consists  of  phosphate  of  lime,  it  is  then  very 
necessary  that  the  young  growing  animal,  as  well  as  the 
cow  which  is  yielding  milk — which  is  rich  in  this  compound 
as  is  requisite  for  the  nourishment  of  young  animals — should 
be  supplied  with  food  that  contains  this  bone-making  ma- 
terial in  abundance,  hence  the  necessity  for  supplying  grass 
lands  with  this  indispensable  fertilizer. 

Complete  or  Special  Manures  are  mixed  fertilizers, 
which  contain  every  element  of  barn  yard  manure  except 
the  carbon,  which  is  supposed  unnecessary,  as  the  soil  con- 
tains an  abundance  of  it.  The  principal  elements  of  plant 
food,  the  nitrogen;  phosphoric  acid;  and  potash;  are  pro- 
vided in  about  the  some  proj^ortions  in  which  they  exist  in 
good  stable  manure.  A  comparison  of  a  complete  fertilizer, 
according  to  Prof.  Villes  formula,  with  barn  yard  manure, 
is  given  in  the  following  table. 

stable  Complete 

Composition  of            Manure,  Manure, 

2000  lbs.  100  lbs. 

Nitrogen 7  to  10  lbs.  7>^lbs. 

Phosphoric  acid 4  to   9  lbs.  5  to  7  lbs. 

Potash 9  to  15  lbs.  7  to  8  lbs. 

Thus  100  lbs.  of  the  complete  manufactured  manure  at  a 
cost  of  about  $2.  contains  about  as  much  fertilizing  matter 
as  one  ton  of  the  best  stable  manure,  and  in  an  immediately 
available  condition  for  crops. 

Sulphate  of  Ammonia,  is  a  refuse  of  the  gas  manu- 
facture and  is  a  distillation  from  mineral  coal.  It  has  been 
made  at  times  by  the  addition  of  sulphuric  acid  to  stale 


ACTION   OF   NITROGENOUS   FERTILIZERS.  229 

urine,  and  the  evaporation  of  the  mixture  to  dryness.  It 
consists  of  35  parts  of  ammonia;  53  lbs.  of  sulphuric  acid; 
and  12  lbs.  of  water.  It  is  thus  an  exceedingly  concen- 
trated fertilizer  and  can  be  used  only  in  combinaticfti  with 
other  substances  or  in  very  small  quantities  evenly  spread 
over  the  soil.  It  is  soluble  and  active  in  the  soil,  and  ex- 
erts a  correspondingly  rapid  and  useful  effect  upon  vegeta- 
tion, hence  it  is  sold  at  a  high  price ;  the  nitrogen  in  it  be- 
ing valued  in  the  market  at  I82  cents  per  pound.  The 
present  market  price  (wholesale)  of  this  substance  is  $60 
per  ton,  and  at  the  estimation  of  20^  per  cent,  of  nitrogen, 
this  is  thus  procured  at  about  15  cents  per  pound. 

The  action  of  this  fertilizer  is  a  matter  of  importance,  as 
it  may  affect  the  growth  of  leaf  or  grain.  Experiments  with 
it  have  shown  that  it  is  especially  useful  for  turnips,  an  ap- 
plication of  100  lbs  of  it  having  increased  the  crop  from  13 
tons  on  unmanured  soil,  to  24*  tons  upon  the  fertilized  part 
of  the  field.  Generally  it  has  a  most  notable  effect  upon 
the  foliage;  but  this  is  to  be  considered  in  relation  to  the 
effect  of  a  luxuriant  foliage  upon  the  quantity  of  starch  or 
gluten,  which  may  be  stored  in  the  plant  or  in  the  seed. 
Thus  a  crop  of  wheat  dressed  with  100  lbs.  of  this  salt  per 
acre,  gave  not  only  an  increased  crop  of  grain,  but  the  flour 
made  from  the  grain  yielded  10  j  per  cent,  of  gluten  which 
was  one  per  cent,  more  than  that  from  any  other  application 
,  of  manure,  and  somewhat  more  than  the  yield  from  nitrate 
of  soda.  This  is  an  instance  of  how  a  fertilizer  containing 
a  large  proportion  of  nitrogen,  increased  the  quantity  of  ni- 
trogen in  the  crop.  There  has  rarely  been  an  instance  in 
any  experiment  with  this  salt  of  ammonia,  of  its  failure  to 
increase  the  growth  of  leaf  and  grain.  The  large  quantity 
of  sulphuric  acid  no  doubt  has  something  to  do  with  the  in- 
crease of  the  gluten  in  wheat,  as  this  substance  contains 
sulphur;  and  on  this  account  the  use  of  sulphate  of  ammonia 
is  often  recommended  in  preference  to  the  nitrate  of  soda 
for  the  supply  of  nitrogen  to  the  soil. 

Fish  Scrap  is  the  w^aste  of  the  fish  oil  manufacture.  The 
fish,  chieflv  menhaden,  which  come  near  our  coasts  in  enor- 


230  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

mous  shoals,  are  steamed  for  the  oil  they  contain;  the  re- 
sulting mass  of  moist  flesh  and  bone  is  then  dried  and  fine- 
ly powdered.  The  substance  thus  produced  is  called  fish 
scrap.  It  is  one  of  the  nitrogenous  manures,  but  contains 
some  phosphoric  acid  and  a  little  potash.  It  has,  as  might 
be  expected,  somewhat  the  same  character  as  Peruvian 
guano,  which  is  derived  from  the  excrement  of  sea  fowl 
which  feed  upon  fish.  An  analysis  offish  scrap  gives  the 
following,  from  a  good  sample. 

Composition  of  Fish  Scrap  dried  at  212° 

Moisture 9.00  per  cent. 

Phosphoric  acid 11.72  " 

Reverted  phosphoric  acid 4.41  " 

Insoluble  phosphoric  acid 7. 31  " 

Potash 89  " 

Nitrogen 8.16  " 

Insoluble  matter,  lime,  etc 3.70  " 

Value  per  ton,  $49.35 

This  is  seen  to  be  a  valuable  fertilizer,  and  by  mixture 
with  potash  salts  would  make  a  most  useful  manure.  Not 
being  immediately  soluble,  but  yet  decomposing  freely  in 
the  soil,  it  becomes  available  for  the  crop  gradually;  hence 
it  may  be  applied  early  in  the  season,  and  its  eflfects  will 
continue  to  be  apparent  during  the  whole  period  of  growth. 
It  has  been  found  especially  useful  for  corn;  market  crops; 
potatoes;  and  for  grass  and  clover.  Many  farmers  have 
found  its  useful  eflfects  much  increased  by  treatment  with 
sulphuric  acid,  by  which  the  ammonia  contained  in  it,  or 
evolved  during  its  decomposition,  is  changed  to  a  sulphate; 
and  its  phosphate  of  lime  becomes  superphosphate;  when  its 
solubility  being  very  much  increased,  it  becomes  much  more 
available  for  the  feeding  of  crops.  The  coarse  fish  scrap, 
unground,  sells  for  a  much  less  price  than  the  kind  of  which 
the  analysis  is  given  above,  and  it  makes  an  excellent  ma- 
terial for  enriching  composts.  One  ton  of  it  added  to  10 
tons  of  fresh  swamp  muck,  with  a  ton  of  potash  salts  and  a 
ton  of  ground  gypsum,  has  been  found  to  make  a  most  use- 
ful substitute  for  stable  manure,  and  when  used  for  a  crop 
of  mangels  gave  a  very  satisfactory  yield,  equal  to  that  up- 
on adjoining   parts  of  a  field  which  were  manured,  one 


BONES.  231 

^vitli  20  tons  of  good  stable  manure  at  a  cost  of  $55.,  and 
the  other  with  1200  lbs.  of  complete  artificial  manure  at  a 
cost  of  $30.  These  quantities  were  equally  divided  between 
6  acres,  and  the  yield  over  the  whole  field  averaged  a  little 
over  1200  bushels  per  acre,  with  but  little  difference  between 
the  diflferent  parts  of  the  field;  the  difference  being  in  favor 
of  the  complete  artificial  manure  which  yielded  roots  of 
large  size.  This  result  is  what  might  be  expected  from  the 
solubility  and  consequent  availability  of  the  complete  man- 
ure, which  was  made  up  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  muriate 
of  potash,  and  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

Dried  Blood  and  Flesh. — The  refuse  of  the  large 
slaughtering  establishments  and  the  meat  canning  factories, 
furnishes  a  large  amount  of  most  valuable  plant  food  which 
was  formerly  wasted.  This  is  however  mostly  used  by  the 
manufacturers  of  fertilizers  in  the  compounding  of  complete 
manures,  or  in  the  enrichment  of  superphosphates  of  the 
class  known  as  ammoniated  fertilizers.  The  rapid  decom- 
position of  these  preparations  of  blood  and  flesh,  causes  the 
free  production  of  ammonia,  the  loss  of  which  is  avoided 
by  its  combination  with  the  free  sulphuric  acid  of  the  super- 
phosphate and  the  formation  of  sulphate  of  ammonia.  The 
composition  of  this  substance  is  given  in  the  table  at  the 
end  of  this  chapter,  along  with  that  of  the  following  waste 
matters  used  for  manures. 

Bones  have  been  used  for  manure  for  farm  crops  for 
many  centuries.  It  is  supposed  that  their  value  in  this  di- 
rection was  first  discovered  by  the  extraordinary  fertility 
of  ancient  battle  fields  which  were  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion, and  in  which  the  decaying  bones  formed  a  considera- 
ble element  in  the  soil.  Some  years  ago  ground  bones  were 
the  only  artificial  manure  used  to  help  out  the  always  in- 
adequate farm  manure,  and  it  was  the  beneficial  results 
from  this  fertilizer  which  started  the  investigations  which 
resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  value  and  method  of  mak- 
ing superphosphate  of  lime  and  ended  in  the  present  enor- 
mous manufacture  and  use  of  what  are  called  artificial  fer- 
tilizers. 


232  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

Bones  when  dry,  consist  of  35  per  cent,  of  gelatine;  55 
per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime;  4  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of 
lime;  3  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  magnesia;  and  3  per  cent, 
of  soda;  potash,  and  common  salt.  Usually  the  gelatine  of 
bones  is  too  valuable  for  the  glue  which  is  made  from  it  to 
be  left  in  the  bones,  used  for  manure,  and  as  this  contains  a 
large  proportion  of  nitrogen,  the  manurial  value  of  the 
bones  is  considerably  decreased  by  its  loss.  The  bone 
mostly  used  is  that  which  has  been  steamed  to  extract  the 
gelatine,  and  consists  of  phosphate  of  lime  and  the  other 
mineral  matters.  These  however  are  exceedingly  valuable 
as  plant  food,  and  are  desirable  for  their  permanence  in  the 
soil.  The  good  effects  resulting  from  an  application  of  1000 
lbs.  of  crushed  bone  per  acre  to  grass  land,  have  been  per- 
ceptible at  the  end  of  30  years;  thus  showing  bones  to  be 
one  of  the  cheapest,  if  not  the  cheapest,  of  all  manures. 

As  phosphoric  acid,  of  which  bone  phosphate  contains  48 
per  cent,  of  its  weight,  is  a  constituent  of  all  farm  plants, 
bones  are  found  valuable  under  all  circumstances;  upon  all 
soils,  and  for  all  crops;  and  never  come  amiss.  The  supply 
is  however  limited  to  the  product  from  the  animals 
slaughtered  and  the  refuse  of  the  factories  where  bone  is 
used  in  the  arts.  An  analysis  of  common  bone  manure, is 
given  in  the  table  above  referred  to. 

Wool  Waste  from  woolen  factories  is  an  exceedingly 
valuable  fertilizer  for  seme  special  uses.  It  is  used  exten- 
sively in  the  European  and  English  hop  yards,  and  is  ap- 
plied yearly,  being  dug  into  the  soil  about  the  roots.  Its 
principal  fertilizing  property  is  derived  from  the  nitrogen 
and  the  sulphur  it  contains.  Its  analysis  will  be  found  be- 
low. 

Castor  Oil  Pomace;  Soot  from  Soit  Coal;  Cot- 
ton Seed  ;  and  Leather  Scraps  ;  are  used  for  manure 
in  localities  where  they  can  be  procured  without  too  much 
expense  for  transportation.  With  the  excej^tion  of  the  last 
mentioned,  these  waste  substances  are  of  considerable  value, 
chiefly  for  the  nitrogen  they  contain,  and  form  an  excellent 
basis  for  enriching  composts,  or  for  top  dressing  grass  lands. 


COMPOSITION   OF   VARIOUS   FERTILIZERS.  233 

Leather  Scraps  are  difficult  to  decompose,  and  decay 
Tery  slowly ;  but  they  contain  a  large  proportion  of  poten- 
tial nitrogen,  and  when  plowed  into  the  soil  slowly  give  it 
up  to  the  crops. 

The  nitrogen  they  contain  is  thus  of  the  least  vafiie  of  any 
kind  used  in  fertilizers.  As  the  leather  is  very  cheap,  it 
has  offered  a  temptation  to  some  unscrupulous  dealers  in 
fertilizers  to  mix  it  w  ith  their  goods  for  the  purpose  oi  show- 
ing on  analysis,  a  large  percentage  of  nitrogen;  but  as  it  is 
practically  unavailable,  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  thus  shown 
is  misleading,  and  unless  explained  is  fraudulent. 
Composition  of  Various  Fertilizers.     Per  Cent. 

Is   I    tl    I    t    I     I     I      ui 

r  g  1=  £   1   -    I    i    r 

Dried  blood 7.65     8.10     6.23  1.08     «36.64 

Bone  and  flesh....  14.93     4.36"  10.52       4.91  32.01 

^lee*d  hulls!"...}     2.30               13.67  30.82                11.63     15.24     21.65       50.30 

(iround  bones 4.78     2.03    29.83  18.61                                34.79 

Dried  fish 9.24      6.20  40.00 

Dried  flesh 12.05      1.96  50.00 

Ground  hom 10.00   13.53      1.36  2.00                                            23.28 

WoolWa-ste 17.71  «        3.66                                            34.00 

Soft  coal  soot 12.50  tl4.73      1.5  4.5    *2.00     25.46         .05 

Cotton  seed 13.00     3.50     3.50  3.00                                                    20.00 

Cotfon  seed  meal..  14.00     7.00     3.00  2.00                                                  85.00 

*    In  the  form  of  sulphuric  acid. 

t    As  ammonia. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


PART    FIFTH. 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
THE  STRUCTURE  AND  GROWTH  OF  PLANTS. 

Having  considered  the  nature  of  the  various  elements 
which  enter  into  the  structure  of  plants,  and  their  relations 
to  vegetable  growth,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  its  formation, 
composition,  and  its  relation  to  the  growth  of  crops,  with 
the  various  methods  by  which  it  may  be  improved  and  better 
fitted  for  the  purposes  of  cultivation,  it  remains  now  to  con- 
sider the  nature  of  vegetable  life  and  growth,  and  how  these 
are  dependent  upon  the  labors  and  intelligent  skill  of  the 
farmer  for  their  full  and  profitable  development. 

In  considering  this  part  of  our  subject  as  it  relates  to  the 
culture  of  farm  crops,  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
great  mystery  which  lies  beyond  the  reach  of  the  most  acute 
mental  power;  which  defies  every  effort  of  human  intelli- 
gence to  understand  or  explain;  and  eludes  the  grasp  of  the 
most  profound  philosophy.  This  impenetrable  mystery  is 
Life.  However  this  is  viewed,  it  is  a  transcendent  miracle. 
Its  mere  consideration  throws  us  back-  upon  our  own  power- 
lessness  to  reach  even  a  comprehension  of  what  it  is.  We 
can  perceive  the  approaches  to  it;  the  chemical  operations 
by  which  it  is  made  possible  and  which  start  its  develop- 
ment; but  as  one  might  look  over  a  road  crossing  a  rounded 
hill  in  front  of  him,  and  the  way  appears  plain  until  the 
crest  is  reached,  and  then  the  sight  plunges  into  infinity, 
and  finds  no  resting  place  in  the  ethereal  blue  beyond  its 
scope;  so  the  mind  follows  all  the  various  changes  and  pro- 
cesses which  precede  the  bursting  of  a  germ  into  active  life, 
and  recognizes  the  relations  of  these  to  certain  natural  laws, 
and  to  known  forces,  but  the  nature  of  the  vital  power  which 


GROWTH    OF   PLANTS.  235 

controls  all  these,  \\hi3h  sets  in  action  the  weak  but  yet  in- 
vincible germ,  which  guides  with  unerring  instinct  the  plant 
in  the  choice  of  its  food,  the  potent  agency  which  works  so 
silently,  but  yet  exerts  a  power  which  is  incomprehensibly 
great,  the  life  which  springs  from  death,  which  is  constantly 
perishing  and  rising  from  its  ashes,  the  Vital  Principle  which 
crowns  the  labors  of  the  farmer  with  success,  which  covers 
his  fields  with  verdure  and  in  the  season  with  golden  grain 
and  fills  his  barns  with  wealth,  making  animal  existence 
possible  and  supporting  the  higher  life  of  man  with  his  still 
more  wonderful  intelligent  mind — all  this  living  system  is  a 
miracle  before  which  the  mind  of  man  lies  helpless  and  con- 
fesses itself  unable  to  comprehend  it.  This  brings  us  in  fact 
face  to  face  with  the  omnipotent  Creator;  whether  this  be 
the  personal  existence  which  some  believe,  or  a  process  of 
evolution  by  which  a  primeval  germ  has  gradually  pro- 
gressed from  the  lowest  form  of  organized  matter,  up  to  the 
highest  organized  form  of  life — a  reasoning  man. 

We  cannot  consider  this  from  a  chemial  point  of  view, 
because  vital  force  overrides  chemical  laws  and  is  beyond 
our  comprehension.  But  all  force  is  mysterious.  Gravita- 
tion is  something,  the  essential  nature  of  which  we  cannot 
penetrate,  yet  we  can  understand  its  manner  of  action  and 
its  relations  to  matter;  but  while  gravity  cannot  be  sus- 
pended, vital  force  may  be  and  all  the  wonderful  potential 
agency  which  exists  in  a  seed  may  remain  undeveloped  for 
years.  This  seems  to  comprise  the  sum  of  all  the  differ- 
ences between  other  forces  and  vital  force  or  life. 

Vital  force,  has  been  described  as  a  collective  term  em- 
bracing all  those  causes  upon  which  the  phenomena  of  life 
depend.  Plants  and  animals,  as  living  beings,  are  only 
parts  of  the  great  universe;  are  governed  by  its  laws;  and 
are  to  be  studied  by  the  same  methods  as  all  other  phenom- 
ena of  nature. 

Every  plant  springs  from  a  seed,  and  every  seed  contains 
a  rudiment  of  a  new  plant,  called  the  embryo  or  germ.  The 
germ  is  imbedded  in  the  seed,  in  a  protecting  mass  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  starch  and  gluten.      If  a  grain  of  corn  is  cut 


236  THE   CULTURE   OF    FARM    CROPS. 

across  through  its  thinnest  part,  an  oval  receptacle  is  found 
in  which  is  seen  the  germ  surrounded  by  the  starchy  sub- 
stance of  the  grain.  Here  the  germ  lies  dormant,  at  the 
disposal  of  certain  agencies  by  which  the  principle  of  life 
contained  in  it  is  awakened  and  brought  into  active  exis- 
tence.    These  agencies  are  moisture  and  heat. 

It  has  been  shown  that  these  two  agencies,  moisture  and 
heat,  are  necessary  for  the  development  of  chemical  action; 
and  the  vitalizing  of  the  living  principle  in  the  dormant 
germ  is  due  to  this  action.  When  the  conditions  necessary 
to  develop  this  required  chemical  action  are  effected,  the 
germ  awakens  from  its  slumber,  puts  forth  its  latent  power, 
starts  into  motion,  and  begins  to  form  new  cells  by  which 
its  substance  is  increased  at  the  expense  of  the  enveloping 
matter,  which  is  decomposed  and  absorbed.  This  process 
is  called  germination. 

When  a  seed  is  placed  in  the  soil  and  covered  from  the 
light,  it  absorbs  moisture.  Unless  the  temperature  is  above 
a  certain  point  no  action  is  developed;  but  when  the  tem- 
perature reaches  the  right  point  which  varies  considerably 
with  different  seeds,  some  of  which  will  germinate  in  ice 
and  some  require  a  heat  equal  to  ttat  of  boiling  water,  oxy- 
gen is  absorbed,  and  the  gluten  is  in  part  changed  to  dias- 
tase, which  is  a  peculiar  substance  not  well  understood  as 
yet,  but  which  has  the  property  of  changing  starch  to  sugar. 
One  part  of  diastase  is  able  to  convert  2000  parts  of  starch 
into  sugar,  and  it  is  this  substance  which  exists  in  the  malt 
or  grown  grain,  that  furnishes  the  agency  for  the  conversion 
of  the  barley  or  corn  meal  into  sugar  for  the  purposes  of 
brewing.  This  conversion  of  the  starch  of  the  seed  into 
sugar  precedes  the  action  of  the  embryo;  for  the  germ  can- 
not increase  its  substance  except  from  the  matter  absorbed 
by  it,  and  which  furnishes  the  materials  for  building  up 
new  cells.  The  germ  now  expands  by  the  formation  of  new 
cells,  and  pushes  forth  the  radicle  or  root,  which  strikes  into 
the  soil  in  search  of  nutriment;  and  the  spire  or  stem,  which 
extends  upwards  into  the  air,  where  it  puts  forth  leaves. 
The  plant  now  passes  into  a  new  stage  of  existence  and  be- 


STRUCTURE   OF   CELLS.  237 

comes  self-supporting;  exercising  a  power  to  organize  the 
elements  of  plant  growth  which  it  finds  in  the  soil  and  in 
the  air,  and  which  contribute  to  its  nourishment.  Hereto- 
fore it  has  merely  assimilated  the  already  organized  sugar 
which  has  been  derived  from  the  starch  of  the  leed;  just  as 
the  chick  in  the  egg  subsists  upon  the  organized  matter  of 
the  yolk  which  is  absorbed  and  converted  by  a  mere  change 
of  form  into  animal  tissue.  Now  it  begins  to  exercise  a  true 
vital  function,  viz:  the  change  of  inorganic  matter  into  or- 
ganized substance,  the  tissue  of  plants,  which  transformation 
is  effected  by  the  aid  of  the  air  which  is  inspired  through 
the  leaves. 

The  mechanism  of  plant  growth  consists  of  very  minute 
bodies  called  cells,  and  in  these  the  vital  function  is  concen- 
trated and  performed.  These  vary  in  size  from  a  twenty- 
fifth,  to  one  fifteen  hundredth  part  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  are  usually  round  or  oval  in  form.  When  compressed 
in  the  act  of  growth,  these  cells  take  on  various  other  shapes 
as  the  pressure  may  cause  them;  and  become  flat  or  disc 
like;  hexagonal;  elongated;  and  angular.  The  cells  are 
easily  perceived  by  the  aid  of  a  microscope  in  the  pith  of  a 
corn  stalk,  or  of  the  elder,  or  in  the  pulp  of  fruit,  or  the 
flesh  of  a  potato. 

The  cells  consist  of  an  outer  wall  or  membrane,  a  linings 
sac,  and  within  this  a  nucleus  or  small  body  which  is  the 
truly  active  principle  of  vitality.  The  outer  wall  consists 
of  cellulose  or  woody  fiber,  which  is  identical  in  composition 
with  starch,  and  is  insoluble  in  water  or  alcohol.  It  is  near- 
ly pure  in  elder  pith,  and  in  the  cotton  and  linen  fiber.  Its 
chemical  formula  is  C12  H20  Oio,  which  is  precisely  the  same 
as  that  of  starch.  Gum  is  represented  by  the  formula  C12 
H22  Oil  which  is  that  of  starch  increased  by  one  atom  of 
water,  viz :  H2  O;  while  the  addition  of  one  more  atom  of 
water  changes  the  gum  into  sugar,  represented  by  C12  H24 
Oi2-  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  change  of  the  starch  of  the 
seed  into  sugar  in  the  process  of  germination,  is  simply  pro- 
duced by  the  combination  of  2  atoms  of  water  (H4  O2)  with 
the  atom  of  starch  C12  H20  Oio. 


■238  THE   CULTURE   OF    FAKM   CROPS. 

The  cell  contains  a  viscid  albuminous  fluid  called  proto- 
pliism,  (the  beginning  of  life)  in  which  numerous  small 
granules  float.  These  granules  are  the  germs  or  nuclei  of 
new  cells,  and  the  foundation  from  which  growth  of  plants 
proceeds.  The  perfected  cells  burst  and  set  free  the  enclosed 
granules.  A  delicate  membrane  appears  on  the  surface  of 
the  granule,  and  gradually  extending  beyond  its  boundary, 
forms  a  new  cell.  The  new  cell  immediately  absorbs  the 
requisite  material  for  its  vital  contents  of  protoplasm,  and 
granular  matter  from  the  sap  of  the  plant,  and  thus  com- 
pletes its  functions.  Thus  the  building  up  of  the  plant  tis- 
sue goes  on  until  it  is  arrested  by  the  fulfillment  of  its  pur- 
pose; the  ripening  of  its  seed;  and  its  subsequent  death; 
when  the  tissue  begins  to  decay  and  is  decomposed  finally 
into  its  elements  and  furnishes  food  for  a  future  race  of 
plants. 

Other  cells  increase  by  division.  The  contents  of  the  cell 
become  separated,  and  a  new  wall  is  formed  between  the 
separated  granules;  thus  producing  new  cells  each  contain- 
ing its  granule  or  nucleus.  This  granule  increases  in  size 
and  separates,  forming  a  mass  which  in  its  turn  separates 
into  individuals;  and  the  formation  of  new  cells  is  repeated. 
In  this  manner  the  plant  tissue  grows  and  increases  from  its 
termination  or  borders;  the  subdivision  going  on  indefinitely 
as  long  as  the  material  is  furnished  for  the  growth  of  the 
cells. 

A  simple  illustration  of  this  beautiful  process  may  be  giv- 
en. If  we  suppose  the  cell  to  be  a  brick,  and  the  brick  to 
divide  itself  into  separate  parts  by  the  elongation  of  each 
end,  and  the  widening  of  its  sides  and  faces,  and  each  part 
to  grow  to  be  a  complete  brick,  and  each  of  these  then  to 
subdivide  itself  again  into  separate  parts,  as  before,  and  that 
this  process  goes  on  continually  and  in  such  directions  as  to 
form  walls,  with  cross  partitions,  and  the  angular  bounda- 
ries and  openings  for  doors  and  windows  and  every  other 
requisite  for  a  building,  we  may  then  form  some  idea  of  how 
a  plant  is  formed  and  grows,  and  is  built  up  into  root  and 
stem  and  leaves  and  fruit,  until  the  whole  is  completed. 


NUTRITION   OF   CELLS.      -  239 

The  nutrition  of  the  plant  is  accomplished  by  means  of  a 
peculiar  property  of  the  membrane  which  forms  the  wall  of 
the  cell.  This  property  consists  of  a  power  of  the  cell  mem- 
brane to  combine  wdth  the  fluid  in  contact  on  one  side  of  it, 
and  to  decompose  it,  and  thus  pass  it  out  on  the?'  other  side 
of  it;  or  to  transpose  it  in  some  way  through  its  substance. 
Thus  if  a  piece  of  wet  bladder  is  tied  over  the  end  of  a  tube, 
and  the  tube  is  filled  to  a  certain  height  with  alcohol  and 
then  immersed  in  water,  the  water  immediately  begins  to 
pass  through  the  bladder  and  mingles  with  the  alcohol; 
while  the  alcohol  passes  through  the  bladder  and  mixes  with 
the  water  on  the  other  side  of  it.  The  same  movement  takes 
place  with  solutions;  but  the  cell  membrane  has  the  power 
of  retaining  what  it  requires  for  the  nutriment  of  its  con- 
tents; and  building  up  its  own  tissue;  and  then  of  permit- 
ting the  transmission  of  the  remainder  through  its  walls  to 
the  next  cell.  In  this  way  the  water  of  the  soil  containing 
in  solution  the  food  which  the  plants  require,  is  absorbed 
through  the  cells  of  the  fine  feeding  roots,  and  is  passed 
through  from  one  to  another  of  the  many  millions  existing 
in  the  plant,  until  it  reaches  the  leaves;  when,  disburdened 
of  its  load  of  nutriment  which  is  all  absorbed  by  the  cells, 
it  passes  off*  through  the  pores  of  the  leaves  by  evaporation 
into  the  outer  air. 

Cells  are  the  minute  factories  of  the  universe,  in  which 
the  vast  forces  which  we  call  Life  are  constantly  operating 
to  change  and  transform  inorganic  matter  into  organized 
structures,  by  means  of  a  constant  flow  and  transmission  of 
fluids  through  them.  The  force  by  which  these  fluids  are 
transported  from  the  distant  termination  of  a  root  to  the 
uttermost  leaf  at  the  top  of  the  highest  tree,  is  the  delicate 
one  above  described,  and  is  called  osmose.  What  the  power 
is  by  which  the  matter  in  solution  is  changed  into  organized 
living  and  moving  substance  we  know  not;  but  we  call  it 
vital  force,  and  although  its  action  is  imperceptible  to  us 
except  by  its  results,  yet  the  power  exerted  is  so  enormous, 
that  each  pound  of  carbon  fixed  in  the  substance  of  a  crop, 
requires  an  equivalent  of  power  which  is  sufiicient  to  raise 


240  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

a  weight  of  one  ton  500  feet  high;  or  500  tons  a  foot  high. 
What  wonderful  exercise  of  power  is  then  going  on  unper- 
ceived  by  the  farmer  as  he  sees  his  crops  growing  and  com- 
bining a  thousand  pounds  of  carbon  in  his  crop  of  hay  upon 
each  acre;  thus  exerting  a  force  equal  to  that  of  throwing 
a  weight  of  a  ton  500,000  feet  ,  or  100  miles  up  above  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  Truly  the  farmer  lives  amid  the  most 
wondrous  forces  of  nature,  equal  in  intensity  to  those  which 
produce  earthquakes,  cause  volcanoes  to  burst  with  liquid 
fire,  and  rend  mountains  asunder;  yet  he  does  not  perceive 
it,  until  the  minds  eye  is  turned  upon  the  hidden  secrets 
which  lie  in  the  tender  rootlet  and  the  verdant  leaf,  as  well 
as  in  the  great  stem  of  the  most  ancient  monarch  of  the 
forest. 


THE   ROOTS   OF    PLANTS. 


CHAPTER    XXXY. 
THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  ROOTS. 

The  roots  of  plants  perform  two  offices;  one  is  to  support 
the  plant  in  the  soil;  the  other  is  to  gather  food  and  convey 
it  into  the  plant.  In  fact  the  roots  of  plants  are  the  mouths- 
by  which  their  food  is  introduced  into  the  circulation. 

The  roots  possess  a  power  of  selecting  suitable  matter  fromi 
the  soil  for  the  nutrition  of  the  plant;  but  whether  or  not 
they  have  the  ability,  or  exercise  any  power,  to  prepare  the 
food  for  assimilation,  is  not  certainly  determined.  There 
is  reason  to  believe,  however,  that  to  some  extent  the  roots 
not  only  select  suitable  nutriment  from  the  soil  but  also  pre- 
pare such  food  as  may  be  required  from  the  imperfect  ma- 
terials which  exist  in  the  soil.  Roots  seem  to  have  the  pow- 
er of  rejecting  unsuitable  or  unnecessary  matter  which  may 
have  been  absorbed,  and  has  answered  its  purpose;  but  for 
which  there  is  no  further  use.  All  these  functions  have  a 
most  intimate  relation  to  the  growth  of  crops,  and  hence 
furnish  a  most  important  subject  for  the  careful  study  of 
the  farmer. 

The  absorptive  function  of  the  roots  is  exercised  by  ex- 
ceedingly numerous  and  very  fine  hair  like  fibers,  which 
are  attached  to  the  ultimate  thread  like  ramifications  of  the 
visible  roots.  From  the  difficulty  of  separating  these  mi- 
nute and  exceedingly  weak  rootlets  from  the  soil  in  which 
they  are  enveloped,  and  which  they  grasp  firmly,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  examine  closely  the  form  of  the  root  to  its  smallest 
fiber;  but  a  very  good  example  may  be  obtained  by  start- 
ing a  seed  to  grow  in  fine  sand  in  a  small  pot,  and  watering 
it  with  weak  manure  water  until  the  sand  is  filled  with  the 
roots.  The  ball  of  sand  is  then  washed  from  the  roots,  and 
the  very  large  comparative  growth  of  them  as  compared 
with  the  small  size  of  the  plants,  and  their  peculiar  structure 


242  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

can  be  easily  studied.  The  root  hairs  will  be  found  attached, 
much  like  the  bristles  to  a  bottle  brush,  to  the  smallest  fi- 
bers of  the  root.  These  so-called  root  hairs  are  the  absorp- 
tive organs  of  the  roots.  As  the  plant  grows,  the  roots 
gradually  become  stronger  harder  and  more  woody,  as  is 
consistent  with  their  mechanical  purpose  to  uphold  the 
plant;  and  the  latest  growth  of  roots  only,  become  feeders. 
The  precise  way  in  which  roots  absorb  the  plant  food, 
and  their  functions  are  accomplished,  is  still  a  matter  of 
some  uncertainty;  but  the  process  of  osmose  is  probably 
that  by  which  the  solutions  of  the  various  substances  of 
which  plant  food  consists  are  absorbed.  The  dissolved  mat- 
ter in  the  soil  in  which  the  roots  are  immersed,  passes 
through  the  cell  membranes  in  the  manner  previously  de- 
scribed, together  with  as  much  water  as  may  be  needed  to 
supply  the  needs  of  the  plants.  It  is  common  to  say  that 
the  food  enters  through  the  pores  of  the  roots;  but  this  is 
more  a  figure  of  speech  than  a  reality ;  for  under  the  pres- 
ent belief  in  regard  to  the  action  of  osmose  the  existence  of 
pores  or  openings  in  the  membranes  is  not  necessary.  How- 
ever it  is  very  well  ascertained  that  no  solid  substance,  how- 
ever finely  divided  it  may  be,  can  enter  the  roots  of  plants; 
and  only  such  as  is  dissolved  in  water. 

Nor  do  the  roots  absorb  air  or  other  gaseous  matter  un- 
less it  is  dissolved  in  water.  If  a  plant  is  grown  in  water 
in  which  carbonic  acid  gas  is  dissolved,  the  gas  gradually 
disappears  as  it  is  extracted  by  the  roots.  If  a  plant  is 
grown  with  the  roots  in  a  bottle  partly  filled  with  water,  the 
air  in  the  bottle  is  gradually  deprived  of  its  oxygen  to  re- 
place that  which  has  been  extracted  from  the  water.  But 
if  instead  of  air,  the  bottle  is  filled  up  with  carbonic  acid, 
the  plant  will  droop  and  soon  die;  the  same  will  happen  if 
nitrogen,  or  hydrogen  gas,  is  substituted  for  atmospheric 
air.  This  should  not  be  accepted  as  a  proof  that  these  gases 
are  noxious  to  plants,  but  rather  that  they  exclude  the  oxy- 
gen which  is  indispensable  for  all  living  beings;  plants  or 
animals. 

That  roots  select  their  food  from  a  variety  of  substances 


HOW    PLANTS    FEED.  243 

in  the  soil,  precisely  as  fowls  will  select  grains  of  wheat  from 
among  sand  or  gravel  or  sawdust  cannot  be  doubted.  If 
any  necessary  substance  required  for  the  growth  of  plants 
is  absent  from  the  soil,  the  crop  will  refuse  to  grow.  If  a 
seed  is  sown  in  pure  quartz  sand  the  young  plant  will  per- 
ish as  soon  as  the  nutriment  of  the  seed  is  exhausted.  If 
the  plant  is  fed  with  a  mixture  of  lime,  phosphoric  acid, 
and  the  other  elements  of  its  composition,  it  will  grow  to 
maturity;  but  if  one  of  these  are  absent  it  will  not  survive. 
If  other  substances  are  offered  to  it  in  place  of  its  needed 
food  it  will  not  take  up  those  instead  of  these.  It  will  not 
appropriate  magnesia  in  place  of  lime;  nor  soda  instead  of 
potash.  If  various  plants  are  grown  side  by  side  in  the  same 
soil,  each  will  still  extract  from  the  soil  its  own  peculiar 
food  and  will  leave  in  its  ash  its  own  peculiar  propor- 
tions of  various  mineral  matters.  If  a  bean  be  grown 
near  a  stalk  of  corn,  the  ash  of  the  corn  will  contain  a  large 
proportion  of  silica,  but  that  of  the  bean  very  little.  Abun- 
dant proof  is  not  wanting  to  show  that  plants  select  their 
food  from  the  soil,  according  to  their  own  necessities,  and 
exhibit  in  this  way  an  instinct  much  like  that  of  animals. 

Moreover  plants  refuse  to  absorb  useless  matter,  or  if  it 
is  necessarily  taken  into  the  roots,  it  is  returned  to  the  soil; 
it  is  not  stored  up  in  their  tissues;  and  they  perish  when 
noxious  matter  is  absorbed  by  which  the  chemical  action 
and  assimilation  of  their  proper  food  is  interfered  with. 

On  the  whole,  the  conclusion  seems  to  be  reasonable,  that 
the  roots  of  plants  select  from  the  soil,  in  preference,  those 
substances  which  their  nature  and  composition  render  nec- 
essary for  them,  and  in  certain  p'-oportions;  that  to  a  cer- 
tain and  very  narrow  extent  they  have  +he  power  to  substi- 
tute other  substances  in  place  of  those  which  they  would 
prefer  naturally ;  and  that  tney  refuse  admission  to  certain 
useless  or  injurious  substances,  although  they  are  unable 
certainly  to  discriminate  against  and  reject  everything  that 
may  be  hurtful  or  useless  to  them. 

Another  function  of  roots  is  the  power  to  prepare  food 
for  themselves  from  the  store  of  inert  matter  in  the  soil,  iu 


244  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  absence  of  a  sufficient  supply  to  meet  their  wants.  It 
is  known  that  the  roots  of  plants  exert  a  corrosive  action 
upon  the  stones  in  the  soil,  and  upon  rocks  with  which  they 
come  in  contact.  This  they  do  by  the  excretion  of  acetic 
acid,  and  this  acid  is  found  in  the  soil  in  which  young  plants 
have  been  grown  for  experimental  purpo^s.  Koots  of 
plants  have  been  known  to  form  a  network  of  lines  upon 
stones  and  rocks  against  which  they  have  grown,  and  to 
have  caused  the  solution  of  the  mineral  matter  for  their  own 
use.  Lichens  constantly  exert  this  effect  upon  the  rocks 
upon  which  they  grow.  Roots  of  grape  vines  have  been 
known  to  wholly  envelop  a  bone  with  a  mass  of  fibers,  and 
to  have  caused  the  decomposition  of  the  bony  matter  for 
their  ow^n  support. 

Still  another  function  of  roots  is  the  power  to  excrete 
useless  matter  from  their  substance.  This  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  at  various  periods  of  growth  plants  contain  differ- 
ent proportions  of  certain  mineral  matters.  Thus  a  wheat 
plant  contains  about  8  per  cent,  of  ash  previous  to  the  bloom- 
ing period;  51  per  cent,  when  in  flower;  and  but  3i  per 
cent,  when  fully  ripe.  It  may  be  supposed  that  this  dimin- 
ution of  the  ash  may  be  caused  by  the  increase  in  organic 
matter  which  affected  the  ratio.  But  there  is  a  very  im- 
portant change  in  the  character  of  the  ash  at  these  periods; 
for  instance,  the  silica  in  it  varies  from  12 1  to  26  and  51 
per  cent,  according  to  the  variation  of  time  mentioned. 
Thus  while  the  silica  is  increased  4  times,  the  total  ash  is 
reduced  nearly  one-third.  There  must  then  have  been  a 
diminution  of  other  parts  of  the  mineral  matter,  which  can 
only  have  taken  place  by  their  rejection  from  the  plant 
through  the  roots. 

This  process  of  rejection  of  useless  matter  however  is  not 
of  sufficient  importance  to  affect  methods  of  culture  of  dif- 
ferent crops.  It  was  formerly  believed  that  the  matter  re- 
jected or  excreted  by  one  crop  was  of  great  use  as  food  to  a 
succeeding  one;  and  this  was  made  the  basis  for  explaining 
the  beneficial  result  from  a  rotation  of  crops.  But  this 
theory  is  now  obsolete,  and  the  advantage  of  a  rotation  of 


HOW   ROOTS   STORE   UP   STARCtt.  245 

crops  is  more  satisfactorily  and  reasonably  explained,  as 
will  be  shown  in  a  succeeding  chapter. 

More  as  a  matter  of  special  than  general  interest,  another 
function  of  the  roots  is  mentioned  in  passing.  It  is  the 
power  of  storing  up  matter  sometimes  differing  Trom  any 
kind  found  in  the  plant,  and  at  other  times  having  a  close 
similarity  with  it.  Thus  we  have  roots  which  contain  sub- 
stances entirely  different  from  any  found  in  other  parts  of 
the  plant  but  which  must  necessarily  have  passed  through 
the  plant  and  returned  to  the  root.  The  various  medicinal 
roots ;  the  root  of  the  cotton  plant;  and  of  rhubarb ;  are  ex- 
amples of  this  kind.  Of  the  other  kind  are  those  roots,  as 
the  turnip,  carrot,  and  parsnip,  in  which  a  very  large  quan- 
tity of  starch,  sugar,  etc.,  is  stored  up;  and  also  those  tu- 
bers, as  the  sweet  potato,  and  the  common  potato,  which  con- 
tain much  starch.  All  this  matter  has  been  elaborated  in 
the  plant  and  returned  to  the  roots. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTEK    XXXVI. 

THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  STEMS. 

The  stem  performs  two  offices  as  the  roots  also  do;  to 
sustain  the  leaves  and  fruit,  and  to  convey  from  the  roots 
to  the  leaves  the  nutriment  which  the  former  have  gathered 
from  the  soil ;  as  well  as  to  return  to  the  roots  whatever  sap 
or  nutritious  matter  the  roots  require  for  their  growth;  to- 
gether with  any  excess  of  it  which  has  not  been  used  by 
the  plant.  It  may  be  questioned  if  there  is  ever  any  ex- 
cess of  such  matter  taken  into  the  plant,  and  if  the  roots 
do  not  absorb  precisely  so  much  and  no  more  food  than  the 
plant  requires.  But  we  have  seen  that  the  roots  do  dis- 
charge from  the  plant  some  matter  which  is  in  excess  of 
that  required,  and  it  is  probable  that  a  constant  circulation 
always  goes  on  through  the  plant,  from  the  roots  through 
the  stem  to  the  leaves,  and  back  through  the  stem  to  the 
roots. 

Plants  are  divided  by  botanists  into  two  great  classes, 
Endogenous,  or  those  whose  stem  increases  by  additions  of 
cellular  tissue  within  it;  and  Exogenous,  or  those  whose 
stems  grow  by  additions  to  the  outside.  The  first  class  is 
represented  by  the  palm  tree,  and  all  the  great  grass  fam- 
ily of  plants,  which  include  corn,  wheat,  sorghum,  and  all 
those  plants  which  have  hollow  and  jointed  stems,  or  a  pithy 
center  surrounded  by  a  hard  outer  casing;  but  do  not  have 
bark;  the  other  class  is  represented  by  the  majority  of 
plants,  which  like  trees,  increase  by  layers  of  tissue  on  the 
outside  of  the  stem  betw^een  the  wood  and  the  bark.  The 
plants  of  greater  interest  to  the  farmer  belong  chiefly  to 
the  first  class;  but  in  both,  the  stem  exerts  similar  functions 
and  has  similar  relations  to  the  growth  of  the  plants. 

The  stem  is  a  prolongation  of  the  upper  portion  of  the 
root,  and  consists  of  a  mass  of  longitudinal,  hollow,  tubular, 
vessels,  through  which  the  sap  circulates  from  the  root  to 


CIRCULATION   OF   SAP   IN   THE   STEM.  247 

the  leaves  and  back  again.  This,  with  the  support  of  the 
leaves,  is  the  mechanical  function  of  the  stem.  But  the 
stem  has  a  chemical  or  nutritive  iimction  also;  for  as  the 
sap  ascends  through  it  to  the  leaves  it  undergoes  certain 
changes,  by  which  it  is  fitted  for  assimilation  int^e  leaves. 

The  water  which  enters  the  roots  and  which  contains 
certain  nutritive  substances  in  solution,  passes  on  to  the 
stem  and  ascends  to  the  leaves  where  it  diffuses  itself  over 
their  exceedingly  large  aggregate  surface,  and  then  de- 
scends through  the  stem  to  the  roots.  When  the  sap,  or 
what  remains  of  it  after  having  deposited  its  load  of  ali- 
ment through  the  leaves,  branches,  and  stems,  reaches  the 
roots  again,  it  is  necessarily  much  changed  in  character, 
having  been  exhausted  of  its  burden  or  so  much  of  it,  as 
has  been  utilized  by  the  plant.  It  then  deposits  in  the 
cells  of  the  roots  w^hat  these  require  for  their  growth,  and 
it  is  then  perhaps  completely  used  up  or  has  been  deprived 
of  its  dissolved  matter.  At  any  rate  then  it  either  mingles 
with  the  upward  current,  or  it  escapes  from  the  roots  as 
useless  matter. 

But  what  causes  this  upward  and  downward  motion  of 
the  sap?  It  has  been  attributed  to  the  action  of  the  ab- 
sorptive and  decomposing  agency  of  membraneous  matter 
referred  to  as  osmose;  and  this  is  the  most  probable  cause 
of  it;  it  has  also  been  explained  by  the  action  of  capillary 
attraction;  by  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  acting  upon 
a  vacuum  produced  in  the  plant;  but  whatever  may  be  the 
nature  of  the  force  by  which  the  circulation  is  produced, 
its  results  are  the  same,  and  its  effects  upon  the  growth  of 
the  plant  are  not  changed. 

The  outer  covering  of  the  stem  of  a  tree  which  is  called 
the  bark,  and  the  leafy  envelope  of  the  stem  of  a  grass 
have  much  in  common  in  regard  to  the  nutrition  of  the 
plant,  and  w  hat  happens  in  one  case  is  duplicated  in  anoth- 
er with  but  very  little  variation;  excepting  that  in  such 
plants  as  wheat,  which  have  but  little  foliage,  the  assimilat- 
ing functions  of  the  leaves  are  performed  by  the  stems  in 
great  part.    The  sap  then  which  is  conveyed  upwards  from 


248  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  root  througl^^e  stem  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
oxygen  of  the  aii*  which  is  absorbed,  and  is  elaborated  into 
nutritive  matter  which  is  deposited  in  the  cells  of  the  leaves 
and  of  the  stem,  as  the  current  descends,  as  woody  fiber; 
starch;  and  albuminous  matter.  This  process  is  analogous 
to  the  circulation  of  nutriment  through  the  digestive  and 
assimilative  organs  of  animals,  into  and  through  the  lungs 
and  through  the  arteries  and  capillary  vessels  which  are 
scattered  in  the  finest  network  all  through  the  tissue,  and 
from  which  the  solid  substance  of  the  animal  is  deposited. 
Thus  the  stem  increases  in  growth  by  deposit  of  new  mat- 
ter; but  in  the  manner  above  described  as  the  character  of 
the  plant  differs.  This  deposit  is  made  on  the  inner  part 
of  the  stems  of  most  of  the  plants  which  are  grown  as  farm 
crops,  but  on  the  outside  of  the  wood  and  under  the  bark 
of  trees,  forming  what  is  called  the  cambium  layer,  between 
the  wood  and  the  bark. 

But  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  water  absorbed  by  the 
roots  and  passing  upwards  through  the  stem  is  evaporated 
by  the  leaves.  A  small  sunflower  plant  no  more  than  3 
feet  high,  draws  up  from  the  roots  through  the  stem  to  the 
leaves  and  exhales  from  these,  about  30  ounces  of  water  in 
24  hours;  and  the  enormous  quantity  of  water  which  passes 
through  the  stems  of  the  trees  upon  one  acre  of  forest  land 
is  estimated  at  several  tons  per  day. 


HOW   LEAVES   ARE   FORMED. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  LEAVES*. 

Leaves  consist  of  a  woody  and  a  cellular  part.  The 
woody  part  consists  of  a  framework  of  ribs  and  veins  upon 
which  is  spread  cellular  tissue.  These  serve  not  only  to 
strengthen  and  support  the  leaf,  but  also  to  introduce  and 
distribute  the  ascending  sap  through  the  veinlets  and  cellu- 
lar tissue.  The  cellular  portion  is  the  green  pulp,  and  is 
nearly  the  same  as  the  green  layer  of  the  stem.  So  that 
the  leaf  may  be  considered  as  an  extension  or  expansion  of 
the  fibrous  and  green  layers  of  the  outer  covering  of  the 
stem,  and  the  whole  of  it  is  covered  by  a  skin  or  epidermis 
like  that  of  the  stem. 

The  green  pulp  of  the  leaf  consists  of  cells  of  various 
forms  loosely  arranged,  and  leaving  many  irregular  spaces 
between  them;  these  spaces  form  air  passages  which  com- 
municate with  each  other  throughout  the  whole  leaf.  The 
green  color  is  due  to  minute  green  grains  which  lie  loosely 
in  the  cells.  This  coloring  matter  is  known  as  chlorophyll, 
or  the  green  of  the  leaf.  It  is  this  green  matter,  when  de- 
composed into  the  primary  colors  of  yellow  and  blue,  which 
is  supposed  to  give  the  rich  yellow  color  to  the  butter  of 
€ows,  and  the  yellow  color  of  leaves  which  have  ripened 
and  faded  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  The  green  tissue  of  leaves 
differs  on  the  upper  and  lower  sides  of  the  leaves;  the  for- 
mer being  of  a  darker  green,  because  of  the  close  contact  of 
the  cells;  the  under  side  being  light  green  because  of  the 
many  open  spaces  between  the  loosely  placed  cells. 

The  leaves  are  provided  with  a  vast  number  of  pores 
called  ^'stomates,"  which  afford  communication  between  the 
passages  among  the  cells  and  the  air.  Through  these,  the 
vapor  of  water,  air  and  gases,  can  readily  escape  or  enter 
as  the  case  may  be.  A  pair  of  cells  acting  as  valves  guard 
the  opening  of  each  pore;  and  when  dried,  these  contract 
and  close  the  opening  so  as  to  promptly  arrest  the  escape  of 


250         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

moisture  in  dry  weather,  and  expand  and  open  it  when  moist. 
It  is  the  action  of  these  contracting  cells  which  cause  leaves 
to  curl  in  very  dry  weather.  These  air  pores  are  very  nu- 
merous on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  varying  in  number 
from  1000  to  170,000  to  the  square  inch  of  surface.  A  leaf 
of  corn  will  therefore  have  many  millions  of  these  breath- 
ing pores  upon  its  surface;  and  an  apple  leaf,  which  is  not 
so  well  provided  with  these  organs,  has  only  about  100,000 
of  them  to  each  leaf. 

It  is  through  these  pores  that  the  leaves  perform  their 
most  important  office,  viz:  that  of  elaborating  the  crude  sa2> 
into  organic  matter  which  is  deposited  throughout  the  plant, 
and  from  which  its  substance  is  formed.  The  water  in  ex- 
cess of  the  needs  of  the  plant  is  exhaled  through  these  pores, , 
and  thus  the  solid  matter  of  the  sap  is  deposited. 

It  is  also  by  these  pores  that  air  enters  into  the  leaves, 
and  mingling  with  the  sap  produces  such  chemical  changes 
in  it  as  fit  it  for  its  purpose.  The  air  also  enters  and  brings 
in  with  it  the  carbonic  acid  which  is  mixed  with  it,  in  the 
proportion  of  one  twenty -five  hundredth  part  of  its  bulk. 
This  carbonic  acid  is  supposed  to  furnish  a  large  part  of  the 
carbon  of  which  plants  consist,  but  as  the  water  taken  in 
by  the  roots  also  contains  carbonic  acid  in  solution,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  a  large  part  of  the  carbon  of  plants  is  derived 
in  this  way  through  the  soil.  Water  and  carbonic  acid 
taken  in  by  the  leaves  (or  by  the  roots)  are  the  raw  mater- 
ials of  which  the  fabric  of  plants  are  mostly  made  up;  and 
to  change  these  dead  mineral  matters  into  living  organic 
matter  is  the  principal  function  of  the  leaves. 

This  function  is  performed  in  the  green  leaves  alone,  and 
only  in  the  light  of  the  sun.  The  sun  beam  is  the  giver  of 
life  to  the  dead  matter,  and  the  grand  chemical  agency  of 
all  plant  growth.  The  proof  of  this  is  one  of  the  simplest 
rational  propositions. 

First. — The  green  part  of  leaves  exhale  oxygen  only  in 
sunshine  or  bright  daylight. 

Second. — To  give  out  oxygen  is  all  that  is  required  to 
change  water  and  carbonic  acid  into  cellulose  or  plant  food. 


HOW   THE   TISSUE   OF   PLANTS   IS   FORMED.  251 

Third. — 10  parts  of  water  and  12  parts  of  carbon  make 
up  the  composition  of  cellular  tissue;  of  which  the  chemical 
formula  is  C12  H20  Oio.  As  water  consists  of  H2  O;  10  parts 
of  it  furnish  the  H-o  Oio,  w  hich  added  to  C12,  make  up  the 
cellulose  (C12  H20  do). 

Hence  when  the  leaves  absorb  carbonic  acid,  or  receive 
it  in  the  sap  from  the  roots,  and  the  sun  shines  upon  them, 
the  carbonic  acid  is  decomposed  and  the  oxygen  of  it  is  ex- 
haled from  the  leaves  while  the  carbon  forms  a  union  w'ith 
the  elements  of  the  w^ater  and  becomes  plant  tissue.  In 
this  combination  the  required  mineral  elements,  and  the 
nitrogen  of  Avhich  the  gluten  and  albumen  are  formed,  and 
which  are  derived  from  the  sap,  take  their  share;  forming 
the  contents  of  the  cells  and  the  supporting  framework  of 
the  whole  plant. 

Thus  the  leaves  complete  the  work  of  building  up  the 
fabric  of  the  plant  from  the  materials  furnished  by  the  soil, 
or  by  the  farmer  when  the  soil  is  not  fully  provided  with 
them.  And  they  not  only  build  up  the  plant,  but  they 
store  up  in  it  the  starch  of  which  the  seed  mainly  consists; 
and  the  gluten  and  albumen  of  w^hich  the  germ  is  formed; 
and  thus  provide  for  a  future  generation  to  succeed  them 
after  their  work  is  done.  They  also,  by  a  most  mysterious 
change,  in  which  the  very  same  elements  are  simply  trans- 
posed in  some  way,  produce  this  stai-ch  from  the  cellulose; 
and  by  the  addition  of  more  w^ater,  convert  starch  into  the 
sugar  which  makes  the  grape  and  the  peach  and  the  other 
fruits  so  delicious  to  our  palate ;  thus  affording  not  only  the 
simple  necessaries  of  animal  life,  but  the  delicacies  and  lux- 
uries which  make  up  a  large  part  of  the  enjoyment  of  our 
existence. 

But  these  functions  of  the  leaf  have  a  very  close  relation 
to  circumstances  which  are  under  the  control  of  the  farmer. 
The  vigor  and  luxuriance  of  plant  growth  are  closely  con- 
nected with  the  yield  of  the  fruit,  or  the  seed,  which  is  the 
hope  and  aim  of  the  cultivator  of  the  soil.  Hence  how  im- 
portant it  is  that  he  should  encourage  this  leaf  growth  by 
the  most  perfect  preparation  of  the  soil  that  is  possible;  by  per- 


252         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

feet  pulverisation  and  fertilizing,  that  the  roots  may  be  fully 
developed  and  gather  food  from  the  soil  in  abundance;  giving 
support  to  a  stout  vigorous  stem  and  nourishment  for  an 
abundant  foliage;  by  which  all  his  efforts  and  labors  are 
crowned  with  success,  and  profitable  crops  reward  his  in- 
dustry, in  proportion  to  the  intelligence  and  skill  with 
which  he  aids  the  forces  of  nature  to  perfect  their  and  his 
work. 


THE   PARTS   OF   A   FLOWER. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. ^. 

THE  FUNCTIONS  OF  THE  FLOWER. 

The  flowers,  or  the  blossoms,  are  the  reproductive  parts, 
of  a  plant  and  contain  the  fructifying  organs.  They  are 
not  specially  constructed  but  are  simply  altered  branches;; 
and  the  several  parts  are  altered  leaves.  That  is  to  say, 
that  certain  buds,  which  might  have  grown  into  and  pro-^ 
duced  branches  with  leaves,  under  certain  circumstances 
and  for  a  special  purpose  become  developed  into  blossoms. 
At  an  early  stage  of  the  growth  of  these  buds  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  say  whether  they  will  develop  into  a  branch  or  a 
flower. 

The  parts  of  a  flower  are  the  stem;  the  calyx  or  leaves 
which  enfold  the  petals;  the  petals;  the  stamens;  and  the 
pistils.  In  some  flowers  these  change  into  each  other,  there 
is  no  distinctly  fixed  line  between  them,  and  sometimes  the 
whole  flower  consists  only  of  a  cluster  of  leaves,  as  in  the 
green  roses  which  are  grown  as  a  curiosity  in  some  gardens. 

The  principal  parts  of  the  flower  so  far  as  they  relate  to- 
our  subject,  are  the  reproductive  portions,  which  are  con- 
cerned in  the  growth  and  perfection  of  the  seeds.  These  are 
the  stamens  and  pistils.  It  is  not  the  purpose  to  give  a  com- 
plete botanical  description  of  these  organs;  this  can  be 
learned  by  reference  to  any  hand  book  of  botany;  but  an 
explanation  of  their  nature  and  relations  to  each  other,  and 
to  the  development  of  the  seed,  will  be  of  interest  and  value 
in  removing  some  popular  errors  in  respect  to  the  reproduc- 
tion of  species  and  in  aiding  the  farmer  in  many  ways  to 
make  the  culture  of  his  crops  successful  and  profitable. 

The  reproductive  organs  of  plants  have  a  very  close  anal- 
ogy to  those  of  animals.  They  are  male  and  female,  and 
the  relation  of  these  to  each  other,  and  of  the  latter  to  the 
production  of  fruit  or  the  reproductive  germ,  bear  a  close- 
resemblance  to  those  among  animals. 


254  THE   CULTUKE   OF    FARM   CROPS. 

"The  Stamens  are  the  male  organs,  and  in  the  normally 
constructed  flower  surround  the  pistil  which  is  the  female 
organ  and  is  connected  with  an  ovary  in  which  the  fecun- 
dated germ  develops  into  a  perfect  fruit,  or  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  a  seed. 

A  flower  of  the  normal  kind  has  both  stamens  and  pistils 
and  is  called  perfect.  Such  a  flower  is  the  blossom  of  the 
apple  or  cherry,  and  of  wheat  and  rye.  When  a  flower  has 
only  stamens  and  no  pistils,  or  only  pistils  and  no  stamens, 
it  is  called  imperfect;  the  former  is  called  a  staminate  or 
sterile  flower;  and  the  latter  a  pistillate  or  fertile  flower.  The 
corn  plant  gives  an  instance  of  these  kinds  of  flowers;  the 
tassel  being  the  staminate  or  male  flower;  the  silk  being  the 
piatils  which  proceed  from  the  pistillate  or  female  flowers 
which  are  carried  on  the  cob  which  is  the  stem.  Sometimes 
these  imperfect  flowers  are  borne  upon  different  plants,  and 
not  the  same  individual,  as  in  the  case  of  some  varieties  of 
strawberry;  the  hemp;  hop;  in  which  one  plant  has  only 
staminate  flowers,  and  other  plants  only  pistillate  flowers. 
Such  plants  are  called  dioecious  (meaning  in  two  households 
or  families).  These  plants,  such  as  corn,  castor  oil,  and 
the  chestnut  tree  which  bear  both  kinds  of  flowers  upon  the 
same  stem,  are  called  monoecious,  meaning  in  one  house- 
hold or  family. 

This  distinction  is  important  to  farmers  for  it  is  necessary 
in  growing  such  plants  to  distribute  a  certain  number  of 
male  or  staminate  plants,  among  the  pistillate  or  female 
plants,  for  the  purpose  of  impregnation  and  fertilization; 
just  as  he  would  mix  a  certain  number  of  rams  among  a 
flock  of  ewes  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  stamen  consists  of  two  parts,  the  filament  and  the 
anther. 

The  Filament  is  the  stalk  or  support  of  the  anther; 
the  anther  is  the  essential  part  of  the  stamen.  It  is  a  sort 
of  case  which  is  filled  with  a  fine  powder  or  dust  called 
pollen.  This  pollen  is  the  fertilizing  agent  of  the  flower. 
It  is  usually  of  a  yellow  color  and  is  so  abundantly  produced 
that  it  impregnates  the  air  over  a  wide  space,  and  is  carried 


FRUCTIFICATION   OF   PLANTS.  255 

on  the  winds  to  considerable  distances.  It  is  sometimes 
seen  covering  the  shores  of  lakes  after  heavy  showers  which 
wash  it  down  from  the  air,  and  has  been  thought  to  be  sul- 
phur produced  by  the  lightning,  by  persons  not  acquainted 
with  its  character  and  origin.  A  field  of  evergreen  sweet 
corn  grown  by  the  author,  half  a  mile  from  any  other  corn 
field,  and  with  a  large  piece  of  woods  intervening,  was  so 
much  fertilized  by  the  pollen  from  this  distant  field  as  to 
have  been  spoiled  for  seed. 

The  pollen  of  various  plants  differ  so  much  in  appearance 
when  examined  under  a  microscope  as  to  be  easily  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  its  special  plant.  The  minute  grains 
of  it  are  thus  exceedingly  interesting  objects  for  microscop- 
ical study.  These  grains  of  pollen  vary  in  shape;  some  are 
round;  some  oval;  some  angular  and  many  sided;  some 
triangular;  others  double;  treble;  and  in  other  ways  are 
exceedingly  diversified.  They  are  made  up  of  two  coats, 
the  inner  one  being  filled  with  a  fluid  of  a  thickish  con- 
sistence, in  which  are  mixed  a  great  number  of  minute  grains. 

The  Pistil  is  made  up  of  an  ovary,  a  style,  and  a  stigma. 
The  ovary  and  the  stigma  are  the  most  essential  parts;  the 
style  being  the  stalk  which  holds  up  the  stigma,  and  the 
connecting  channel  between  the  two.  The  ovary  is  the  re- 
ceptacle for  the  ovules  or  embryo  seeds,  which  adhere  to  the 
inner  sides  of  the  cell  or  cells,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  pea; 
the  ovary  or  pod  of  which  contains  the  seeds  arranged  along 
its  length  and  attached  to  the  side  of  it.  The  ovules,  con- 
sist of  a  mass  of  pulpy  tissue  called  the  nucleus  and  are 
covered  by  one  or  two  coats. 

The  embryo  is  formed  in  the  nucleus,  and  the  coats  be- 
come the  coverings  or  skin  of  the  seed.  There  is  an  open- 
ing through  the  coats  of  the  ovary  near  where  the  apex  of 
the  ovules  is  situated,  and  an  orifice  in  the  ovule  which 
corresponds  with  it. 

Fructification,  or  the  process  of  impregnating  or  vi- 
talizing the  seed,  is  the  final  function  of  the  flower;  and  is 
effected  as  follows.  When  the  flower  is  ripe  for  the  per- 
formance of  this  function,  the  anther  bursts  and  the  pollen 


256         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

grains  escape.  They  either  fall  upon  the  adjacent  stigma;^^ 
or  are  carried  to  it  by  insects,  to  whom  the  pollen  grains 
adhere  by  their  points  or  their  viscidity,  and  who  are  in 
pursuit  of  honey.  Or  they  are  blown  by  the  winds  and  fall 
upon  the  stigma,  and  adhere  to  it  by  means  of  a  viscid  fluid 
which  exudes  from  it. 

The  grain  of  pollen  which  falls  upon  the  stigma  imme- 
diately begins  a  process  of  growth.  It  sends  out  a  prolonga- 
tion of  its  inner  coat,  which  is  extremely  thin  and  delicate, 
into  the  soft  substance  of  the  stigma,  and  through  the  inte- 
rior of  the  style  into  the  ovary;  just  as  the  slender  rootlet 
from  a  seed  sinks  into  the  soil.  It  then  penetrates  the  ori- 
fice of  the  ovule,  and  reaches  the  embryo,  when  it  discharges 
a  portion  of  the  soft  pulpy  mass  which  becomes  the  germ  of 
the  embryo. 

The  Germ  consists  of  a  vesicle  or  cell,  which  has  a  very 
delicate  membranous  coat  or  envelope  in  which  there  are  a 
small  quantity  of  mucilaginous  fluid,  some  minute  grains, 
and  a  soft  pulpy  mass  called  the  nucleus. 

Thus  we  have  now  traced  the  whole  process  of  plant 
growth,  and  the  structural  development  from  its  original 
cell  to  the  final  accomplishment  of  its  purpose,  which  is  seen 
to  be  the  reproduction  of  this  original  cell,  enormously  in- 
creased in  number;  some  plants  producing  many  millions  of 
seeds  and  such  cells.  And  we  have  returned  to  this  rudi- 
mentary cell,  with  its  albuminous  germ  imbedded  in  the 
starch,  which  is  formed  in  the  substance  of  the  seed,  as  will 
be  explained  in  the  following  chapter. 

It  may  be  asked,  however,  at  this  point,  how  and  by  what 
general  natural  provision  the  perpetuation  of  species  is  ef- 
fected; and  how  a  destructive  mixture  of  kinds  is  avoided 
when  this  diffusion  of  pollen  is  so  general  in  the  atmos- 
phere. Just  here  we  are  met  with  the  common  natural  law 
which  provides  that  different  species  cannot  mingle,  and 
that  the  foreign  pollen  shall  be  inert  and  unproductive. 
Thus  the  pollen  from  a  pear  tree  may  fall  upon  the  flowers 
of  an  apple  tree  to  any  extent,  but  there  is  no  reciprocal  re- 
lation or  action  between  them;  the  foreign  pollen  grains. 


THE   BEAUTY   OF   VEGETABLE   GRaWTH.  257 

meeting  with  no  affinity,  dry  up  and  perish.  This  law  gives 
us  an  example  of  the  wondrously  perfect  adaptation  of  means 
to  ends  in  nature.  It  may  be  a  growth  of  long  continued 
selection  and  natural  variation  of  plants  by  which  one  spe- 
cies has  become  differentiated  from  another  so  mufch,  that  no 
reproductive  relations  can  exist  or  take  place  between  them. 
It  may  be  an  example  and  proof  of  design  in  creation,  and 
the  result  of  the  most  perfect  wisdom  and  creative  power. 
In  either  case  the  power  and  wisdom  which  promulgated 
and  which  enforces  the  law  of  selection  and  gradual  evolu- 
tion of  peculiarities,  and  the  fixity  of  type  from  a  single  germ; 
and  that  which  might  create  and  maintain  each  distinct 
\rariation,  are  equal  in  every  respect;  for  it  is  impossible  to- 
have  considered  the  amazing  fitness  and  beauty  and  perfect 
adaptation  which  mark  the  various  process  by  which  a  plant 
is  produced  from  its  elements,  and  made  to  minister  to  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  mankind,  without  being  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  these  things  did  not  happen  by  acci- 
dent, and  are  not  self  created;  but  are  the  result  of  a  wise 
and  beneficent  power  whose  existence  and  action  we  can- 
not comprehend;  and  which  is  equally  worthy  of  our  ven- 
eration and  regard,  whether  it  emanates  from  some  supreme 
creator,  or  is  the  result  of  some  force  that  has  been  set  in 
action  by  some  grand  controlling  influence  which  pervades 
the  universe.  The  power  and  wisdom  behind  these  natural 
laws  is  the  same  from  whatever  source  they  may  spring. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

ITS  FORMATION  AND  ITS 
CHARACTERISTICS. 

During  the  formation  of  the  fruit,  which  begins  to  be  ef- 
fected when  the  bud  first  opens  into  a  flower,  several  im- 
portant chemical  changes  occur  in  the  plant.  As  the  for- 
.  mation  of  a  seed  is  the  grand  climax  of  the  process  of  plant 
growth,  and  is  a  return  to  the  point  from  which  the  plant 
first  started;  so  we  find  the  chemical  action  which  controls 
the  various  changes  in  the  plant,  to  return  to  its  point  of 
departure  and  complete  a  circle  of  results. 

The  germination  of  a  seed  is  accompanied  by  the  change 
of  starch  into  gum  and  sugar,  and  the  growth  of  the  plant 
is  due  to  the  change  of  these  into  woody  fiber;  theblossom- 
ing  of  the  plant  being  a  period  when  these  changes  are  the 
most  active.  The  sap  of  the  maple  tree,  becomes  less  sweet 
when  the  flowers  begin  to  appear  and  the  sugar  in  the  beet 
root  and  the  sugar  cane  is  less  abundant  when  these  plants 
begin  to  blossom. 

Thus  the  maturity  of  a  plant  is  marked  by  a  reversed 
chemical  action;  and  whereas  in  its  earliest  stages  starch 
was  converted  into  sugar,  at  its  mature  period  sugar  is  con- 
verted into  starch  which  is  concentrated  in  the  fruit,  and 
stored  up  for  the  nutriment  of  the  germ  when  it  is  in  its 
turn  awakened  into  life  and  action  in  the  soil. 

The  husk  or  envelope  of  the  future  seed,  of  wheat  or  corn 
for  instance,  is  at  first  filled  with  a  milky  liquid  which 
gradually  becomes  more  sweet  and  dense,  and  finally  con- 
solidates into  a  mass  of  starch  and  gluten.  This  process  of 
ripening  the  seed  is  exactly  the  reverse  of  that  of  the  ger- 
mination of  it;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  while  we  can 
perform  the  same  operation  of  changing  woody  fiber  and 
starch  into  sugar  and  sugar  into  acid,  we  cannot  con- 
vert acid  into  sugar  nor  sugar  back  to  starch  or  woody  fiber. 
This  is  a  process  of  nature  which  we  cannot  imitate,  and 


OF  WHAT  A  SEED  CONSISTS.  259 

consequently  cannot  explain,  as  we  can  the  converse  change 
of  woody  fiber  into  starch  and  starch  into  sugar. 

The  term  seed  is  agricultural,  botanically  the  seed  is  the 
fruit;  and  what  is  commonly  called  a  fruit  is  the  recepta- 
cle of  the  seed.  Thus  a  melon  or  an  apple  is  th^receptacle 
in  which  the  seeds  and  fruit  are  contained;  a  strawberry  is 
a  fleshy  receptacle  upon  which  the  fruit  or  seeds  are  im- 
planted. Here  however  the  popular  meaning  is  given  to 
these  terms  and  fruits  and  seeds  are  understood  in  the  com- 
mon use  of  the  words. 

The  seeds  of  a  plant,  as  we  have  seen,  consist  of  a  mass  of 
starch  cells  enclosed  in  a  husk,  and  in  which  is  imbedded 
the  germ  with  its  nitrogenous  gluten  surrounding  it.  These 
starch  cells  are  enclosed  in  several  envelopes;  a  grain  of 
wheat  having  three  distinct  coats  differing  in  character;  the 
inner  ones  containing  potash,  gluten,  and  phosphoric  acid, 
in  larger  proportion  than  any  other  part  of  the  seed.  Some 
of  the  grains  have  husks  which  contain  a  large  quantity  of 
silica;  oats  for  instance  having  46  per  cent,  of  silica  in  the 
ash;  and  the  ash  of  millet  containing  52^  per  cent,  of  this 
mineral. 

During  the  process  of  ripening  of  the  seed  this  excessive 
deposit  of  silica  is  most  remarkable  in  the  stem.  As  an 
important  function  of  the  stem  is  the  support  of  the  seeds, 
this  deposit  of  silica  in  it  is  necessary  to  strengthen  it  and 
enable  it  to  sustain  the  comparatively  heavy  weight  of  the 
seeds.  But  this  large  deposit  of  earthy  matter  is  an  im- 
portant consideration  to  the  farmer  whose  business  it  is  to 
produce  as  much  nutriment  in  his  fodder  crops  for  the  sub- 
sistence of  his  animals  as  he  can,  and  as  silica  is  of  no  use 
in  the  alimentation  of  animals,  its  presence  in  the  fodder  is 
not  desirable. 

Young  grass  contains  only  as  much  silica  as  makes  up 
10.3  per  cent,  of  its  ash;  while  the  ash  of  the  ripened  hay 
has  63  per  cent,  of  it;  the  potash  in  it  amounts  to  only  7 
per  cent,  against  56  per  cent,  in  the  ash  of  the  young  grass. 
This  change  in  the  composition  of  vegetable  tissue  affects 
all  plants;  for  as  the  starch  and  gluten  are  stored  up  in  the 


260         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

seeds,  and  the  stem  is  strengthened  by  the  deposit  of  min- 
eral matter  in  it,  it  follows  that  the  woody  fiber  and  the 
ash  of  the  stems  are  increased,  not  only  directly,  but  rela- 
tively by  the  decrease  of  starch  sugar  and  albumen. 

The  ripening  of  fruit  which  is  a  process  closely  related  to 
the  ripening  of  the  seeds,  is  accompanied  by  an  equally 
considerable  and  interesting  change.  This  change  is  more 
intelligible  than  that  which  occurs  in  the  ripening  of  seeds, 
because  it  is  one  that  can  be  produced  by  the  chemist,  and 
its  process  and  results  represented  by  figures. 

The  common  fruits,  the  apple,  pear,  plum,  grape,  etc.,  in 
their  immature  stage,  are  tasteless  and  consist  almost  wholly 
of  woody  fiber,  filled  with  flavorkss  sap  and  tinged  with 
the  green  coloring  matter  of  the  leaf — chlorophyll.  The 
young  fruit  at  this  time  performs  some  of  the  functions  of 
the  leaf;  absorbing  carbonic  acid  and  giving  off  oxygen; 
and  thus  gathering  carbon  from  the  atmosphere  and  build- 
ing up  cellular  tissue  of  this  carbon  and  the  water  which  it 
receives  from  the  roots.  After  a  time  the  fruit  becomes 
sour  by  the  formation  of  acid  in  it,  and  the  acid  gradually 
increases.  While  this  acid  is  increasing,  less  oxygen  is  giv- 
en off  than  before.  The  process  by  which  the  fruit  acids 
and  fruit  sugar  are  produced  may  be  explained  as  follows. 
Tartaric  acid  (the  acid  of  grapes)  is  represented  by  the  for- 
mula C4  H4  O5;  or  4  equivalents  of  carbon;  4  of  hydrogen 
and  5  of  oxygen.  This  acid  may  be  formed  in  the  fruit  in 
two  ways :  either  from  the  carbonic  acid  absorbed  by  the  - 
grape,  and  water,  w^ith  the  exhalation  of  oxygen;  or  from 
the  gum  and  sugar  always  in  the  sap  by  the  absorption  of 
oxygen  from  the  atmosphere.     Thus 

4  parts  of  Carbonic  acid  =  C4        Og 
2  parts  of  Water  =       H4  O2 


The  sum  is  =  C4  H4  Oio 
Tartaric  acid  =  C4  H4  O5 

leaving  O5 


HOW   STARCH   IS   STORED   IN   PLA^S.  261 

To  produce  this  acid  then,  the  vines  may  absoro  carbonic 
acid  from  the  atmosphere,  combine  it  with  the  water  of  the 
sap  and  throw  off  into  the  sunshine  the  residue  of  oxy- 
gen. And  as  we  know  that  all  these  processes  do  go  on  in 
plants,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  this  result  is  due  to 
them. 

By  another  change  which  is  quite  as  simple^  but  not  nec- 
essary to  explain,  grape  sugar  or  the  sugar  of  fruits  may  be 
changed  into  tartaric  acid  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  and 
the  escape  of  water.  The  malic  acid  of  the  apple,  and  the 
pear,  and  other  fruits,  may  be  formed  in  precisely  the  same 
ways;  and  it  differs  from  the  former  acid  only  in  having 
one  equivalent  less  of  oxygen  in  its  compositicm. 

When  the  seed  is  ripe  the  functions  of  the  animal  plants 
of  which  the  common  farm  crops  consist,  are  discharged. 
The  absorption  and  decomposition  of  carbonic  acid  by  the 
leaves,  and  the  supply  of  nutriment  to  these  are  no  longer 
required,  for  their  growth  is  completed.  The  leaves  there- 
fore begin  to  absorb  oxygen,  and  decompose;  lose  their 
green  color  and  turn  yellow ;  and  prepare  to  return  to  their 
original  elementary  substances  of  which  they  were  at  first 
compounded. 

Perennial  plants  however  have  a  further  function  to  per- 
form. A  supply  of  food  has  been  deposited  in  the  seeds  for 
the  sustenance  of  the  germs  which  may  spring  from  them, 
and  in  the  buds  which  have  been  formed  to  begin  the  growth 
of  another  year.  When  the  leaves  have  ripened  and  wither 
and  fall,  the  sap  which  has  circulated  through  them  is  con- 
verted into  woody  fiber  and  starch.  In  some  plants  this 
starch  is  stored  up  in  the  stems,  as  in  the  potato;  the  tubers 
of  which  are  but  thickened  stems  and  the  eyes  merely  buds; 
the  starch  being  intended  for  the  nutrition  of  the  buds  when 
they  shall  start  into  growth  to  renew  the  plants.  The  woody 
fiber  of  trees  is  deposited  between  the  bark  and  the  wood  of 
the  stem,  to  form  the  annual  layer  by  which  the  tree  in- 
creases in  bulk.  This  layer  of  new  wood  however  is  depos- 
ited only  under  the  bark  and  around  the  stem  and  conse- 
quently the  stem  increases  only  in  thickness,  and  never  in 


262         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

length;  the  only  way  in  which  the  growth  of  a  perennial 
plant  is  elongated  being  at  the  extremities  of  the  branches 
and  from  the  terminal  buds.  Then  the  work  of  the  year 
being  finished,  vegetation  rests  and  slumbers  until  the  re- 
newed warmth  of  the  sun  in  the  returning  spring  awakens 
it,  and  life  once  more  starts  into  full  and  vigorous  action. 

The  seed,  we  have  seen,  bears  a  specific  character.  It  is 
the  product  of  a  plant  having  marked  and  special  charac- 
teristics and  habits.  Plants  of  the  same  species  always  pro- 
duce like  seeds,  and  their  seeds  produce  always — within 
slight  variations — the  same  kinds  of  plants  in  every  respect. 
A  wheat  plant  always  produces  wheat;  the  seed  may  vary 
to  some  slight  extent,  but  it  is  wheat,  and  never  barley,  oats, 
or  corn.  And  a  grain  of  wheat  always  produces  a  wheat 
plant,  and  never  oats  or  any  other  plant.  Thus  the  common 
belief  that  under  some  unfavorable  circumstances  a  wheat 
seed  may  produce  a  plant  of  chess,  or  a  wheat  plant  may 
change  to  a  chess  plant,  which  is  an  entirely  distinct  and 
different  species,  is  as  impossible  as  that  a  cow  under  un- 
favorable circumstances  might  change  into  or  produce  a 
sheep  or  a  rabbit.  It  is  fortunate  that  the  increase  and 
spread  of  accurate  knowledge  and  of  intelligence  among 
farmers  is  such,  that  these  and  other  delusions  are  fast  dis- 
appearing; for  they  mislead  and  confuse  farmers  in  their 
work,  and  induce  them  to  suppose  that  freaks  of  nature  are 
responsible  for  the  results  of  their  own  mismanagement,  and 
that  the  poor  yields  of  crops  may  be  caused  by  circumstances 
beyond  their  control.  To  some  extent  this  may  be  true; 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  the  w^ell  managed  crops  grown  by 
intelligent  and  careful  farmers  never,  or  rarely,  suffer  in  the 
ways  which  those  of  the  careless  unskillful  and  ignorant 
farmer  do;  and  that  the  rigors  of  the  season  are  destructive 
mostly  to  the  crops  ill  put  in;  in  poor  soil;  and  in  defiance 
of  all  the  best  methods  of  culture.  The  cultivation  of  farm 
crops  is  successful  only  when  it  is  carried  on  under  rules 
and  practices  based  upon  the  laws  and  facts  hereinbefore 
described  and  explained;  and  when  it  is  thus  carried  on  its 
results  are  as  certain  as  those  of  natural  laws  in  other  re- 


THE  LAWS  OF  PLANT  GROWTH  UNCHAN6t:ABLE.   263 

spects;  as  those  of  gravitation;  and  of  heat  and  of  other 
chemical  action;  and  of  those  physical  laws  which  regulate 
all  matter.  The  processes  of  vegetable  growth  can  all  be 
explained  as  subject  to  these  natural  laws,  which  are  un- 
changeable; omnipotent;  and  eternal;  as  the  great  source 
from  which  they  received  their  first  impulse. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  PLANTS  BY  BREEDING 
OR  CROSSING. 

The  increase  of  varieties  by  natural  or  artificial  means, 
is  one  of  the  most  important  methods  by  which  improve- 
ment in  the  culture  of  farm  crops  has  been  effected.  As 
regards  farm  animals  this  course  of  improvement  has  been 
most  effective  in  increasing  the  value  of  live  stock  and  in 
adding  vast  wealth  to  the  world.  The  original  stock  of  cat- 
tle, horses,  sheep,  and  swine,  were  very  different  both  in 
variety  and  character  from  the  present  improved  kinds, 
which  far  surpass  in  usefulness  and  value  the  ancient  types. 
This  improvement  is  largely  due  to  the  system  of  crossing 
by  which  the  better  qualities  of  two  races  are  united  and 
combined;  while  the  inferior  characteristics  of  each  are 
neutralized  or  bred  out.  Thus  large  bony  animals  being 
crossed  with  more  compact,  fine  boned,  fleshy  ones,  have 
produced  equally  large  progeny  with  equally  fine  bone  and 
heavy  flesh;  and  it  has  been  in  this  way  that  the  magnifi- 
cent short  horn  breed  of  cattle;  the  splendid  horses;  the  most 
useful  sheep  and  swine,  have  been  gradually  developed 
from  inferior  stock.  \ 

As  there  is  a  close  analogy  between  the  nature  of  animal 
life  and  that  of  vegetable  life  in  other  respects,  this  similar- 
ity also  exists  in  this  respect;  and  a  similar  course  of  im- 
provement which  has  been  carried  on  during  many  years 
of  intelligent  and  careful  study  and  labor,  and  which  has  in 
some  cases  been  aided  by  unlooked  for  accidents,  has  re- 
sulted in  the  most  important  and  valuable  results.  All  our 
farm  crops,  vegetables  and  fruits,  have  been  greatly  im- 
proved in  this  way,  and  the  course  of  improvement  is  now 
broader  and  more  rapid  and  effective  than  it  has  ever  been 
before,  thanks  to  the  wide  spread  of  knowledge  among  cul- 
tivators of  the  soil,  and  the  large  development  of  enterprise 
and  genius  which  has  been  due  to  this  increase  of  intelligence. 


IMPEOVEMENT   IN   VARIETIES.  265 

The  breeding  of  plants  is  as  nearly  alike  to  the  same  pro- 
cess among  animals,  as  the  physical  characters  of  plants  and 
animals  approach  in  similarity. 

It  has  been  shown  how  nearly  alike  in  principle  the  re- 
productive processes  are;  and  it  is  quite  evident  that  these 
are  as  amenable  to  control  and  direction  in  one  case  as  in  the 
other.  A  study  of  these  principles  and  their  relation  to  the 
growth  of  plants  will  enable  any  farmer  or  gardener  to  turn 
them  to  his  own  advantage  in  the  improvement  of  the  va- 
rieties of  the  plants  which  he  cultivates.  During  a  few  years 
past  a  large  number  of  farmers  have  been  working  in  this 
direction,  and  hundreds  of  new  kinds  of  potatoes;  tomatoes; 
corn;  wheat;  oats;  barley;  roots;  and  several  other  valua- 
ble agricultural  plants  have  been  introduced.  The  early 
rose  potato  is  one  instance  of  this  improvement,  and  the  ac- 
tual money  value  of  the  benefit  thus  accrueing  to  the  far- 
mers from  this  one  variety  is  certainly  more  than  one  hun- 
dred million  dollars.  Several  varieties  of  wheat,  the  Claw- 
son;  the  Fultz;  the  Schumacker;  and  others  have  been 
equally  valuable ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  other  crop  plants. 

It  has  been  explained  that  the  fertilizing  influence  exists 
in  the  pollen  of  the  plants  which  is  contained  in  the  anthers 
upon  the  summit  of  the  stamens.  That  this  pollen  is  scat- 
tered by  various  methods,  some  direct  and  some  indirect,  so 
as  to  reach  the  receptive  stigmas  upon  the  pistils.  As  a 
rule,  the  stamens  are  so  placed,  that  their  pollen  cannot 
easily  reach  the  pistils  of  the  same  plant;  hence  a  sort  of 
natural  crossing  between  unrelated  organs  is  secured.  But 
nature  never  does  all  for  mankind.  Man  was  given  dominion 
over  nature;  and  to  secure  the  most  benefit  from  her  work  he 
must  control  and  direct  it.  Nature  secures  some  method  of 
reproduction  and  avoids  extinction,  but  it  is  with  enormous 
waste  of  effort  and  resources.  By  cultivating  the  soil  and 
planting  and  saving  seeds,  man  avoids  these  wastes;  and  by 
controlling  the  fecundation  of  the  plants,  he  can  avoid  nat- 
ural or  accidental  deterioration  and  secure  improvement. 
The  accidental  processes  of  nature  in  this  direction  by  means 
of  winds  and  of  insects,  are  insufficient  for  our  purpose;  and 


266         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

SO  farmers  in  their  methods  of  planting,  endeavor  to  direct 
the  fertilization  of  their  crops  as  far  as  they  can  in  a  gen- 
eral manner. 

No  improvement  however  that  is  at  all  satisfactory,  can 
be  reached  in  this  way;  and  so  the  operation  of  crossing,  by 
using  the  pollen  of  one  variety  of  plant  to  fertilize  the  pis- 
tils of  another  kind,  is  practiced. 

This  is  done  in  the  following  manner. 

Some  plants,  as  has  been  described,  have  their  stamens 
and  pistils  borne  by  different  individuals.  Strawberries  and 
hops,  are  examples  of  this  kind.  With  these  it  is  a  very 
easy  matter  to  effect  a  cross  fertilization.  All  that  is  re- 
quired is  to  protect  the  pistillate  plants  from  the  reach  of 
any  pollen  but  that  which  is  used  in  the  operation ;  and  by 
taking  flowers  of  the  staminate  kind,  at  the  time  when  the 
pollen  is  ripe  and  is  being  shed,  and  when  the  pistils  are  in 
a  receptive  condition,  and  scattering  the  pollen  over  these. 
This  is  all  that  is  required  to  produce  a  new  variety  which 
may  differ  from  each  of  the  parents  in  a  marked  degree,  and 
yet  possess  the  better  characteristics  of  each. 

We  say  inay  differ;  because  while  the  probability  is  that 
there  will  be  a  difference,  yet  the  tendency  of  reversion  to 
inferior  types  is  so  strong  in  nature  that  of  ten  thousand 
seedlings  not  one  may  be  any  improvement  upon  the  par- 
ents, and  yet  every  one  may  differ  in  some  respect.  At 
the  same  time  there  may  be  some  valuable  distinct  and  new 
kind  which  may  be  worth  all  the  trouble  that  has  been  ex- 
pended upon  the  remainder.  This  has  been  the  case  in  every 
instance,  and  yet  the  few  valuable  results  which  have  been 
gained,  have  enormously  overpaid  for  the  aggregate  effort. 

When  perfect  flowers  are  subjected  to  the  operation  of 
crossing,  a  more  difiicult  process  is  required.  The  anthers 
from  the  selected  flower  are  cut  off  as  soon  as  they  appear 
by  means  of  a  slender  pair  of  scissors;  and  the  end  of  the 
branch  with  the  flower,  is  covered  with  a  bag  of  fine  gauze 
of  linen  or  silk,  to  protect  it  from  pollen  other  than  that 
which  is  desired.  The  flowers  chosen  for  their  pollen  are 
gathered  when  in  the  right   condition  and  brought  to  the 


IMPROVEMENT   OF   CORN.  267 

selected  one ;  the  pollen  is  carefully  taken  from  the  anthers 
upon  a  soft  camels  hair  brush,  and  is  placed  upon  the  re- 
ceptive stigmas;  the  flower  being  then  covered  as  before. 
If  the  pollen  is  received  the  pistils  soon  begin  to  wither  and 
the  ovaries  swell ;  showing  that  the  ovules  have  oeen  fecun- 
dated. 

There  are  other  cases  in  which  a  still  more  careful  opera- 
tion is  required.  Some  plants  are  self  fertilizing,  and  can- 
not be  crossed  with  the  pollen  of  other  plants  even  natur- 
ally. Wheat  is  such  a  plant;  hence  it  is  impossible  for 
varieties  to  change  excepting  by  what  is  known  as  "sport- 
ing." To  cross  wheats  then,  it  is  necessary  to  proceed  as 
follows.  Before  the  flowers  open  and  the  anthers  appear, 
the  glumes  or  coverings  of  the  buds,  which  answer  to  the 
calyx  of  other  flowers,  are  carefully  opened  or  removed;  and 
the  organs  of  the  flowers  are  exposed.  The  anthers  are 
then  cut  ofl*  as  above  mentioned,  and  the  pistils  are  fertilized 
with  the  chosen  pollen  communicated  as  before  described. 
The  ear  of  the  plant  is  then  enveloped  in  a  protecting  cov- 
ering of  fine  gauze,  and  the  operation  is  complete.  Most 
important  results  have  been  reached  in  this  way  and  the 
field  for  experiment  is  boundless. 

In  crossing  corn  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  grow  some 
plants  in  a  plot  by  themselves;  to  remove  the  tassels  as  soon 
as  they  appear;  and  to  protect  the  silk  by  gauze  coverings. 
When  the  silk  is  in  the  right  condition,  the  mature  tassels 
from  the  desired  plants  are  shaken  over  the  silks  to  scatter 
the  pollen  upon  them,  by  which  the  fertilization  is  eflfected. 
This  operation  should  be  repeated  daily  until  it  is  seen  that 
the  silk  has  received  and  absorbed  the  pollen,  which  is 
shown  by  its  withering  and  drying  up. 

In  regard  to  the  fertilizing  of  corn  by  the  natural  pro- 
cess a  very  important  point  might  here  be  mentioned.  This 
is  the  crossing  by  an  imperfect  plant.  A  perfect  plant  of 
corn  is  one  that  has  both  kinds  of  flowers;  that  is,  a  tassel, 
and  an  ear  and  silk.  Such  a  plant  is  productive.  But  in 
a  field  of  corn  there  are  a  large  number  of  stalks  which  do 
not  produce  an  ear,  and  have  the  tassel  or  staminate  flow- 


288         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

ers  only.  These  are  unproductive;  and  as  their  presence  is 
of  no  benefit  in  supplying  pollen  to  other  plants,  and  as 
their  influence  upon  other  plants  is  injurious  as  it  tends  to 
the  reproduction  of  their  own  kind,  and  is  detrimental  to 
the  seed  produced,  it  is  advisable  to  emasculate  them,  as  a 
stock  breeder  would  do  with  his  inferior  male  animals,  by 
cutting  off  the  tassels  as  soon  as  they  appear  and  before 
they  can  shed  any  of  their  pollen. 

In  practicing  this  method  of  improving  seed  one  more 
point  should  be  noticed.  This  is  to  j^roeure  the  very  best 
development  of  the  parent  plants  by  selecting  the  best  sam- 
ples of  seed,  and  by  giving  them  the  highest  possible  culti- 
vation. This  is  analogous  to  the  high  feeding  of  those 
breeding  animals  which  are  selected. for  their  excellent  nat- 
ural qualities  for  the  improvement  of  their  races.  Plants 
are  affected  in  this  way  precisely  as  animals  are.  "  Like 
produces  like"  among  plants  and  animals  alike;  and  in  the 
improvement  among  vegetable  species  the  principles  which 
govern  the  breeding  of  animals  should  prevail. 

Pedigree  is  the  development  of  peculiarities  by  the  con- 
tinuous selection  of  parents.  Plants  are  subject  to  this 
development  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  a  most  remarkable 
improvement  has  been  effected  in  many  of  the  plants  grown 
for  farm  crops  by  the  continuous  selection  of  the  best  seeds 
from  the  best  plants.  This  principle  is  not  new  by  any  means. 
It  w^as  expressed  many  centuries  ago  by  Virgil  who  in  effect 
says :  "Unless  the  largest  and  best  seed  is  carefully  culled  out 
by  hand  the  plants  will  degenerate."  This  is  the  invariable 
experience  of  farmers  at  the  present  time  who  realize  to  the 
fullest  extent  that  "as  they  sow,  so  do  they  also  reap." 

There  have  been  some  remarkable  instances  of  the  bene- 
ficial results  of  this  breeding  of  seeds.  Wheat  has  been  in- 
creased in  size  of  ear  from  3  to  9  inches  in  length;  and  in 
yield  from  30  grains  per  ear  to  more  than  100.  The  weight 
of  the  grain  has  been  increased  up  to  66  lbs.  per  bushel, 
and  the  yield  per  acre  from  80  to  70  bushels.  Corn  has 
been  gradually  brought  to  bear  more  ears  upon  the  stalk, 
from  two  to  seven;  and  to  enlarge  the  product  up  to  125 


SELECTION   OF   THE   BEST   SEED.  269 

bushels  of  grain  to  the  acre.  Oats  have  also  been  equally 
improved  up  to  a  weight  of  50  lbs.  to  the  bushel,  the  growth 
of  mangels  has  been  brought  up  to  a  weight  of  60  or  70  lbs. 
to  the  root,  and  a  yield  of  120  tons  per  acre.  The  improve- 
ment of  farm  and  garden  vegetables  has  been  ec^ally  con- 
spicuous, while  the  success  of  the  florists  has  been  most  re- 
markable in  the  improvement  of  flowering  plants 

This  selection  of  seed  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  the  success- 
ful growth  of  crops  by  the  best  farmers  w^ho  know  how  to 
avail  themselves  of  it  and  to  profit  by  it.  But  it  is  to  be 
done  with  judgment.  The  eflecYs  of  climate  are  to  be  con- 
sidered. Some  crops  succeed  best  in  a  cool  climate;  others 
in  a  warmer  one.  Oats  reach  a  Aveight  of  do  lbs.  the  meas- 
ured bushel  in«Scotland  and  Ireland  where  a  long  cool  sea- 
son of  growth  favors  the  development  of  the  plant.  Potatoes 
yield  600  bushels  per  acre  under  ordinary  cultivation  in 
the  mountain  region  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee;  while 
in  Nova  Scotia  the  yield  is  but  little  less.  Wheat  reaches 
a  weight  of  66  lbs.  to  the  bushel  in  Dakota,  and  contains  a 
much  larger  quantity  of  gluten  than  the  average.  Hence 
seed  that  is  brought  from  these  localities  reproduce  their 
peculiarities  elsewhere,  and  continue  to  do  so  for  some  time; 
the  continuance  being  proportionate  to  the  care  given  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  crop — until  the  influence  of  climate  pre- 
vails or  by  persistence  a  new  and  better  type  is  fixed. 

All  these  considerations  are  of  great  importance.  They 
show  how  man  by  intelligent  direction  can  change  natural 
forces  to  a  large  extent  for  his  own  advantage.  And  it  is 
an  encouraging  fact,  to  impel  effort  in  this  direction,  that  it 
is  the  destiny  of  mankind  to  possess  the  earth ;  to  have  do- 
minion over  the  soil  of  it  and  all  its  products;  and  to  re- 
plenish it  and  develop  all  its  possibilities  by  the  best  culti- 
vation of  its  products  as  far  as  his  physical  power  and  his 
intelligence  permit  him. 

The  term  "sporting"  has  been  used  in  reference  to  the 
self  variation  of  wheat,  upon  a  previous  page.  This  term 
is  used  to  express  a  natural  variation  from  the  original  type 
"without  any  apparent  cause;  a  sportive  fancy  of  the  plant 


270         THE  CULTUEE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

as  it  may  be  said,  or  an  accidental  departure  from  the  reg' 
ular  course. 

This  accidental  occurrence  is  taken  advantage  of  to  re- 
produce the  variation  by  such  a  process  as  will  fix  the  new 
type  and  preserve  its  peculiarities.  A  great  many  such 
cases  have  occurred.  Most  of  our  valuable  fruits  have  thus 
originated;  many  varieties  of  grains  have  been  produced  in 
this  way  and  have  been  fortunately  preserved  by  the  ob- 
servant farmers  who  have  noticed  the  departure  from  the 
regular  course  of  growth.  The  well  known  late  rose  potato 
was  thus  originated  from  a  cutting  of  early  rose;  which  re- 
mained green  long  after  the  other  plants  of  the  crop  had 
ripened.  A  notable  case  recently  occurred  with  a  new  and 
strange  rose,  which  appeared  upon  a  branch*  of  an  old  kind, 
and  which  was  so  admirable  in  form  and  color  as  to  strike 
the  notice  of  the  florist  in  whose  green  houses  it  appeared. 
The  branch  was  divided  into  cuttings  and  propagated  with 
the  result  of  a  profit  of  several  thousand  dollars  in  two  or 
three  years. 

So  many  fortunate  prizes  have  been  discovered  in  this 
manner  that  the  farmer  who  is  constantly  observing  what 
is  going  on  around  him,  can  scarcely  fail  to  find  something, 
in  some  way,  that  will  be  of  interest  or  value  to  him.  And 
he  w^ho  is  the  most  thoroughly  versed  in  all  the  fundament- 
al knowledge  of  his  business,  and  understands  the  princi- 
ples upon  which  his  work  is  based  the  best,  will  be  most 
likely  to  secure  his  share  of  these  prizes  w*hich  the  grand 
lottery  of  nature  offers  to  those  who  take  a  share  in  it. 


CAUSE  OF  THE   LOSS  OF   FERTILITY. 


PART    SIXTH. 

CHAPTER     XLI. 

THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

The  previous  chapters  have  been  devoted  to  the  explana- 
tion of  the  principles  upon  which  the  culture  of  farm  crops 
depends.  This  knowledge  is  indispensable  to  successful 
practice  in  farming,  and  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
otherwise  mysterious  operations  of  nature,  as  we  meet  with 
them  in  farm  work.  The  reader  who  has  followed  us  through 
the  previous  chapters  will  now  be  prepared  for  the  discus- 
sion of  the  practical  questions  which  arise  in  the  daily  labors 
in  the  field;  and  we  now  take  up  the  subject  of  the  culture 
of  farm  crops  in  its  practical  bearings,  applying  to  it  the 
principles  Avhich  have  been  heretofore  explained. 

When  a  farmer  has  worked  his  land  for  a  number  of 
years,  he  finds  the  richest  soils  to  gradually  decline  in  pro- 
ductiveness; to  become  worn  out  and  exhausted  in  fact;  and 
he  will  not  be  surprised  by  this,  after  having  read  and  stud- 
ied what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  soil 
and  of  plant  growth,  and  the  relations  of  these  to  each  other. 

Continuous  cropping  removes  from  the  soil — as  has  been 
shown — a  very  large  quantity  of  its  soluble  fertile  constit- 
uents; and  in  time,  takes  from  it  the  available  plant  food 
which  has  accumulated  during  a  very  long  period;  we  know 
not  how  many  centuries  or  ages,  of  gradual  storing  up  of 
this  available  fertility;  and  brings  it  back  again  to  its  origi- 
nal condition  when  the  mineral  elements  of  the  soil  and  the 
atmosphere,  were  the  only  sources  from  which  plants  could 
derive  materials  of  which  to  form  their  substance.  The 
continuous  growth  of  such  crops  as  wheat  and  corn,  year 
after  year,  very  soon  carries  off  the  available  plant  food  and 
brings  the  land  to  this  impoverished  condition.     But  under 


272         TnE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

the  best  culture,  aud  with  the  most  economical  practice  in 
regard  to  feeding  stock  and  using  the  manure,  the  natural 
resources  of  the  land  are  so  well  husbanded  that  the  soil 
may  be  kept  in  a  condition  of  fertility,  quite  equal  to  that 
when  the  farmer  first  took  possession  of  it.  It  is  the  lousi- 
ness of  the  conservative  and  skillful  farmer  to  thus  preserve 
these  resources  from  waste,  by  the  practice  of  the  most  thor- 
ough tillage;  by  the  use  of  manures  made  upon  the  farm ; 
and  such  artificial  fertilizers  as  can  be  procured  in  the 
markets. 

A  few  years  ago,  when  the  rich  virgin  soils  of  the  w^est 
were  first  opened  to  settlement  and  yielded  enormous  crops, 
the  early  farmers  who  had  been  used  to  the  comparatively 
sterile  soils  of  New  England,  which  had  been  wholly  ex- 
hausted of  all  their  available  fertility  by  a  wasteful  system 
of  agriculture,  perceiving  the  surprising  richness  of  the  new- 
ly broken  land,  thought  there  would  be  no  end  to  its  pro- 
ductiveness; and  ridiculed  the  cautions  and  suggestions  of 
experienced  persons  who  foresaw  that  the  universal  laws  of 
nature  could  not  be  violated  without  producing  the  inevita- 
ble results,  and  that  the  burning  of  straw;  the  repeated 
crops  of  wheat  and  corn;  the  removal  of  all  the  produce 
from  the  land;  and  the  waste  of  such  manure  as  was  made 
by  the  feeding  of  the  working  cattle  and  the  cows  which 
were  the  only  animals  kept  on  the  farms;  must  certainly 
end  in  the  wearing  out  and  exhaustion  of  the  soil.  These 
farmers  now  experience  the  very  same  results  which  hap- 
pened in  their  former  homes,  and  which  must  occur  every- 
where. They  have  learned  that  there  is  a  limit  to  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  richest  soils;  and  that  the  end  is  reached 
in  time  as  certainly  as  the  seasons  roll  around,  and  the  years- 
come  to  an  end. 

But  even  now,  the  very  same  unwise  course  of  continuous 
cropping  of  the  land,  and  the  repeated  growth  of  grain 
crops  is  practiced  in  spite  of  past  experience;  and  we  may 
well  repeat  the  warning,  that  but  a  few  years  will  elapse — 
and  all  the  fewer  as  the  culture  is  more  perfect — before  par- 
tial sterility  will  take  the  place  of  virgin  fertility,  and  the 


WHAT   AVAILABLE   FERTILITY   IS.  273 

soil  be  reduced  to  its  primitive  condition  when  it  was  with- 
out any  accumulated  stores  of  available  j^laut  food.  This 
term  "available,"  perhaps  needs  a  word  of  explanation,  lest 
it  may  be  misunderstood. 

If  a  man  possesses  a  sum  of  money  in  coin  or  current 
funds,  it  is  available  for  the  purpose  of  trade.  He  can  pur- 
chase food;  clothing;  houses;  lands;  and  any  other  property 
with  it,  without  any  difficulty.  If  he  should  invest  his" 
funds  in  such  property  that  is  readily  salable,  his  means  are 
still  available;  and  he  can  turn  his  possessions  into  money 
again,  with  ease.  But  if  he  spends  his  money  foolishly; 
buying  property  which  is  not  desirable;  as  for  instance  tracts 
of  land  far  beyond  the  boundaries  of  settlement;  his  means 
are  used  up  and  are  not  available;  he  can  neither  sell  the? 
property,  nor  borrow  upon  it;  andif  he  needs  money  for  his 
l^Tsent  uses,  he  will  find  himself  as  poor  as  the  ragged  va- 
grant who  begs  food  from  door  to  door. 

Just  so  in  regard  to  the  fertility  of  the  land.  The 
farmer  grows  crops  and  takes  from  the  soil  a  certain 
quantity  of  plant  food;  this  plant  food  was  available; 
and  the  plants  could  take  what  they  wanted  of  it.  In  time, 
by  an  exhaustive  process  of  culture,  all  this  ready  formed 
soluble  matter  is  used  up;  spent;  and  gone;  and  the  soil  ia 
left,  still  containing  thousands  of  pounds  of  the  same  kind 
of  matter,  but  it  cannot  be  reached  by  the  plants,  because 
it  is  not  soluble,  excepting  to  a  very  small  extent.  All  this 
plant  food;  the  nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere  and  of  inert  or- 
ganic substance  in  the  soil;  and  the  various  mineral  matter 
of  the  soil;  all  these  are  in  existence,  but  are  not  available 
and  the  plants  starve  upon  the  soil  with  all  this  unavaila- 
ble food  in  it. 

For  the  profitable  culture  of  farm  crops,  therefore,  the 
farmer  must  see  to  it  that  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  kept  in 
an  available  condition;  that  as  it  is  drawn  upon  by  the 
crops,  it  is  replaced  by  the  application  of  manure;  and  that 
fresh  supplies  are  brought  forth  from  the  soil  by  thorough 
tillage  with  the  most  eflfective  implements. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XLII. 

IMPLEMENTS  OF  TILLAGE. 

No  man  can  work  without  tools;  and  to  do  the  best  work, 
the  best  implements  are  required.  In  a  work  of  this  chai- 
acter,  upon  ''The  Culture  of  Farm  Crops,"  some  reference 
to  the  best  implements  for  preparing  the  land,  and  for  se- 
curing by  their  right  use,  all  the  benefits  which  accrue  from 
the  operations  of  the  natural  laws  which  have  been  ex- 
plained in  previous  chapters,  should  not  be  missed. 

Plowing  is  the  first  work  in  the  culture  of  crops;  for  the 
land  must  thus  be  prepared  for  the  seed.  After  jolowing, 
follows  harrowing;  an  equally  important  work;  and  in  some 
respects  of  greater  significance  in  regard  to  the  culture  of 
the  soil.  With  these  two  implements,  every  kind  of  soil 
that  is  dry  enough  for  tillage  may  be  thoroughly  well  fitted 
for  the  seed  and  for  the  growth  of  crops. 

A  plow  is  constructed  upon  certain  scientific  principles, 
and  much  study  has  been  given  by  the  best  mechanics  and 
inventors  to  the  perfection  of  these  implements.  Its  purpose 
is  to  cut  a  slice  of  the  soil,  raise  it,  and  turn  it  over;  either 
partly  so  as  to  stand  on  edge  in  a  sloping  direction;  or  com- 
pletely so  that  the  earth  is  reversed  in  position.  The  for- 
mer method  is  that  mostly  used  in  ordinary  farm  work,  and 
for  all  the  purposes  of  preparing  land  for  seed  is  quite  suffi- 
cient, and  we  think  preferable  to  the  other  in  every  respect. 
To  effect  this  purpose  the  plow  is  provided  with  a  pointed 
and  edged  share  to  cut  the  slice  of  earth;  and  with  a  curved 
mold-board  to  lift  and  turn  it.  The  share  is  thus  necessar- 
ily made  in  the  form  of  a  wedge,  and  the  mold-board  in  the 
form  of  a  section  of  a  cylinder,  or  of  a  cone.  As  the  share 
cuts  the  furrow  slice  loose  from  the  solid  ground,  it  lifts  it 
so  that  it  passes  on  to  the  mold-board,  which  further 
lifts  it,  and  at  the  same  time  by  means  of  the  curved  surface, 
turns  it  over  and  deposits  it  on  its  edge;  pressing  it  close 
and  compactly  against  the  previously  turned  soil. 


HOW   TO   REGULATE   THE   PLO^T.  275 

It  is  quite  easy  to  follow  this  action  of  the  plow,  in  the 
mind;  and  as  the  farmer  follows  his  plow  in  the  field  and 
watches  the  furrow  slice  turn  and  fall  into  its  place,  he  can 
very  readily  perceive  why  the  plow  is  formed  in  this  man- 
ner and  how  it  completes  its  purpose.  But  this "^  is  not  all. 
It  is  the  mere  beginning  of  the  knowledge  of  the  plow ;  for 
the  farmer  himself  has  to  guide  it;  to  hold  it  to  its  work, 
and  to  handle  it  so  that  its  proper  purpose  is  made  effective. 
A  vast  amount  of  poor  plowing  is  done,  and  although  Amer- 
ican plows  are  the  best  and  the  most  easily  handled  of  any, 
yet  as  a  rule,  the  average  plowing  is  a  wretched  piece  of 
work,  and  quite  sufficient  to  explain  why  the  American  far- 
mer produces  smaller  crops  than  any  other  civilized  farmer; 
and  this,  notwithstanding  our  excellent  climate  and  fertile 
soils. 

To  do  good  work,  the  plow  should  be  attached  to  the 
traces  so  that  the  sole  rests  on  a  line  which  meets  just  be- 
hind the  point  of  the  share,  with  another  line  which  is  a 
continuation  of  the  line  of  draft  as  shown  by  the  direction 
of  the  traces.  If  this  latter  line  touches  the  line  of  the  sole 
of  the  plow  too  far  behind  the  share,  the  plow  will  run  too 
deeply;  if  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  two  lines  is  ahead 
of  the  point  of  the  share,  the  plow  will  run  too  shallow,  or 
out  of  the  ground;  and  the  plowman  will  have  to  raise  the 
handles  to  keep  the  plow  down  to  its  work.  In  either  case 
the  plow  will  not  run  right,  and  the  labor  of  plowing  will 
be  increased.  So  that  the  first  thing  to  be  looked  to  in  us- 
ing a  plow  is  to  fit  the  draft  right. 

The  drafl  being  properly  regulated,  it  will  run  evenly  ex- 
cept so  far  as  the  inequalities  of  the  soil  and  any  obstacles 
it  may  meet  with,  as  stones;  hard  clods;  or  previously  ill- 
plowed  parts  of  the  land.  It  is  very  rare  indeed  that  these 
interferences  do  not  exist  in  any  field;  and  where  they  do, 
special  pains  must  be  taken  to  remove  or  overcome  them. 
The  plow  must  be  run  at  an  even  depth,  the  furrow  must 
be  of  even  width ;  and  the  furrow  slices  must  lie  over  at  the 
same  inclination;  before  the  land  can  be  said  to  be  well 
plowed.     If  the  relation  of  the  condition  of  the  soil  to  the 


276  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

growth  of  plants,  as  previously  explained,  is  remembered  or 
recalled,  it  will  be  realized  how  very  important  it  is  that 
the  plowing  should  be  perfectly  well  performed  so  that  the 
next  operation  of  harrowing  may  be  equally  well  done. 

The  harrow,  up  to  a  recent  period,  has  been  a  most  im- 
perfect implement,  chiefly  because  its  purpose  in  the  cul- 
ture of  farm  crops  has  not  been  understood.  It  has  been 
supposed  when  a  farmer  has  thought  at  all  about  it, 
that  the  harrow  was  used  to  smooth  the  surface  and  level 
the  ridges  left  by  the  plow.  In  effect  it  has  been  mostly 
used  to  cover  Up  and  hide  the  bad  work  of  the  plow,  and  to 
put  a  superficial  smoothness  upon  the  soil,  leaving  the  under 
portion  in  an  exceedingly  unfavorable  condition  for  the 
growth  of  plants.  But  during  some  years  past  the  attention 
of  agricultural  mechanics  and  inventors  of  improved  machin- 
ery has  been  turned  towards  the  improvement  of  this  imple- 
ment; and  after  many  disappointments  and  failures,  some- 
thing like  perfection,  if  not  perfection,  has  been  reached. 
The  first  great  improvement  was  the  sloping  tooth,  which 
Smoothed  the  soil  and  pressed  it  down;  without  tearing  up 
the  debris  of  the  previous  crop  or  the  manure  which  had 
been  covered  by  the  plow.  The  next  improvement  was  the 
coulter  harrow;  which  cut  the  furrow  slices  and  broke  them 
up.  But  the  spike  tooth  harrow,  and  its  more  recent  rela- 
tive the  spring  tooth  harrow,  differing  nothing  in  principle, 
but  both  mere  scratchers  of  the  surface  still  furnished  the 
majority  of  the  implements  which  were  in  use. 

The  Acme  pulverizing  harrow,  one  of  the  happiest  in- 
ventions which  mechanics  has  bestowed  upon  agriculture, 
was  introduced  about  8  years  ago.  It  was  the  invention  of 
a  well  known  agricultural  mechanic,  Mr.  Nishwitz;  who 
gradually  improved  his  first  designs  until  at  last  the  most 
perfect  implement  of  its  kind  was  produced.  This  harrow 
consists  of  a  smoothing  and  leveling  bar,  which  is  provided 
with  a  set  of  (10)  flat  crushing  teeth  and  ten  curved  coulters 
sloping  backward,  so  that  the  ridges  on  the  surface  are  lev- 
eled and  smoothed  and  clods  are  crushed.  In  the  rear  of 
this  leveling  and  smoothing  bar,  is  another  bar  which  is 


DESCRIPTION   OF   THE   ACME   HARROW.  277 

provided  with  ten  more  cutting  coulters,  very  much  like  the 
long  narrow  mold-board  of  a  plow.  These  are  curved  in  a 
direction  contrary  to  the  ten  on  the  front  bar  and  are  sloped 
behind  so  that  they  crush  and  cut  the  furrow  slices,  already 
smoothed  and  leveled  and  pulverized  on  the  surface, 
to  a  considerable  depth;  the  depth  being  regulated  at 
the  will  of  the  driver;  who  may  if  he  desires,  add  his 
own  weight  to  this  effect  by  riding  on  the  harrow  on  a 
spring  seat  provided  for  this  purpose.  These  cutting  coul- 
ters not  only  dissect  the  furrow  slices,  but  turn  over  the 
pulverized  soil,  by  means  of  the  curve  of  their  blades,  which 
are  in  effect  so  many  small  plows.  There  are  20  of  these 
cutting  blades  which  altogether  take  up  6  feet  of  space;  thus 
covering  one  thirty-fifth  of  a  square  acre  per  every  210  feet 
passed  over.  It  thus  performs  its  work  very  rapidly,  as  well 
as  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  by  pulverizing  the  soil; 
crushing  the  clods;  leveling  the  ridges;  and  fitting  the 
ground  perfectly  for  the  reception  of  the  seed.  Indeed  from 
the  authors  personal  experience  in  the  use  of  this  harrow 
for  several  years  past  he  has  found  it  to  be  a  most  effective 
seed  coverer,  replacing  the  seed  drill  perfectly;  leaving  a 
covering  of  firm  mellow  soil  of  2  inches  over  the  seed;  and 
compacting  this  pulverized  earth  over  and  about  the  seed  in 
precisely  the  manner  required  for  its  perfect  germination, 
and  the  vigorous  growth  of  the  young  plants.  This  use  is 
quite  beyond  its  claimed  purposes,  but  it  shows  that  while 
this  implement  is  called  a  harrow,  and  does  all  that  any 
other  harrow  can  do,  or  has  ever  done,  it  does  much  more; 
and  in  some  cases  does  the  work  of  a  plow,  and  in  all  cases 
does  the  work  of  a  clod  crusher,  and  smoother,  and  a  roller 
as  well.  In  short,  it  answers  perfectly  all  the  purposes  of  the 
farmer  in  fitting  the  plowed  soil  for  the  germination  of  the 
seed,  and  conforms  in  every  respect  to  the  requirements 
which  have  been  so  emphatically  pointed  out  in  previous 
chapters,  for  the  most  effective  consummation  of  the  natural 
laws  which  control  the  relations  of  the  soil  to  plant  growth; 
the  principal  one  of  which  is  the  thorough  pulverization  of 
the  soil. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 
THE  ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

It  is  not  impossible  to  grow  the  same  crop  year  after  year, 
upon  the  same  land  successfully.  Permanent  meadows  are 
instances  of  this  kind  of  continuous  culture.  But  it  is  nec- 
essary to  fertilize  the  soil  in  such  a  way  as  to  restore  pre- 
cisely what  the  crops  have  withdrawn  from  it.  This  con- 
tinuous culture  however  is  not  practicable  in  ordinary 
farming,  although  it  has  been  shown  by  Sir  J.  B.  Lawes  on 
his  experimental  farm  at  Rothamstead  in  England,  that 
forty  continuous  crops  of  wheat,  barley,  or  roots,  can  be 
grown  in  as  many  years,  by  the  use  of  suitable  manures  or 
fertilizers  and  without  any  diminution  in  the  yield. 

In  ordinary  farming  it  has  been  found  that  when  the 
same  crop  is  grown  consecutively  for  a  number  of  years 
upon  the  same  land,  the  product  gradually  decreases  until 
it  no  longer  pays  the  farmer  for  his  labor.  But  he  finds 
that  although  one  crop,  such  as  wheat,  begins  to  fail  the 
second  or  third  year,  some  other  crop,  as  corn,  potatoes,  tur- 
nips, clover,  or  grass,  will  thrive;  and  that  a  succession  of 
these  may  be  grown  in  a  number  of  years  without  any  de- 
terioration. And  not  only  is  this  found  to  be  the  case  in 
regard  to  farm  crops,  but  we  find  it  to  be  the  case  in  the 
natural  growth  of  the  land;  for  when  a  forest  of  hard  woods 
is  cut  down,  and  the  land  is  left  to  grow  up  with  trees  again, 
the  new  growth  consists  of  evergreens;  and  on  the  other 
hand  when  a  pine  forest  is  cut  down,  oaks,  poplars,  and  other 
deciduous  trees  take  the  place  of  it.  The  reason  for  this 
change  of  product  is  not  difiScult  to  perceive.  When  we' 
consider  the  nature  of  each  growth  we  see  that  each  kind 
differs  remarkably.  For  instance,  in  the  following  table 
we  give  the  analyses  of  leaves,  wood,  and  bark,  of  the 
two  kinds  of  trees  which  thus  follow  each  other;  and  it  is 
easy  to  see  v/hy  one  kind  follows  the  other  and  not  its 
own  kind. 


rotation  of  crops  a  necessity.  279 

Composition  of  the  Ash  of 

Leaves  of  Walnut Potash,  42.7  per  cent.  .._. Silica,    1.2  per  cent. 

Pino "  1.5        "  ..'. "       70.1        •' 

Wood  of  Elm "         24.1        "  "         6.2 

Pine ■'  C.8        "  "       15.9 

Bark  of   Linden "         16.1        "  "    -ST"  2.3 

Balsam  fir "  3.0        "  "       31.1 

This  striking  difference  prevails  through  the  whole  list  of 
hard  and  soft  woods. 

Evergreen  trees  require  a  large  quantity  of  silica,  and  in 
gathering  this  from  the  soil,  separate  it  from  its  combina- 
tions with  potash,  lime,  and  magnesia;  leaving  these  in  the 
soil  in  an  available  condition  to  accumulate  in  excess  of  the 
requirements  of  the  then  growing  trees.  When  in  course  of 
time,  the  lumberer,  or  the  farmer,  or  the  accidental  confla- 
gration, removes  the  pines  from  the  land,  a  forest  of  hard 
woods  soon  takes  their  place;  and  vice  versa;  when  the  hard 
woods  have  taken  up  the  potash  and  lime,  and  have  left  a 
large  accumulation  of  silica,  and  they  perish,  or  they  are 
cut  off  in  their  prime,  the  evergreens  succeed  them. 

Precisely  a  similar  occurrence  takes  place  in  the  growth  of 
farm  crops.  If  the  table  given  in  a  preceding  chapter  (Chap. 
XVI,  page  100)  is  referred  to,  it  will  be  seen  how  a  crop  of 
wheat,  in  the  straw,  takes  much  silica  and  little  potash  from 
the  soil;  while  red  clover  takes  more  than  three  times  as 
much  potash;  8n  times  as  much  lime;  and  only  a  twentieth 
as  much  silica  as  the  wheat.  But  more  than  this,  that  as  a 
large  quantity  of  the  red  clover  consists  of  roots  and  stub- 
bles, and  these  are  left  in  the  soil,  a  considerable  quantity  . 
of  nitrogen,  potash,  and  lime,  are  thus  accumulated  after  a 
crop  of  clover  has  been  removed ;  and  the  stubble  has  been 
plowed  under;  and  these  furnish  precisely  the  kind  of  food 
which  will  contribute  to  the  needs  of  a  crop  of  wheat. 
Moreover,  clover  is  a  deep  rooted  plant,  and  finds  its  food 
far  below  the  reach  of  the  shallow  rooted  wheat;  so  that  the 
clover  brings  up  to  the  surface  a  large  quantity  of  plant 
food,  and  leaves  it  there,  just  where  the  wheat  can  find  it. 
Hence  it  is  that  an  abundant  wheat  crop  follows  clover; 
and  a  crop  of  clover  plowed  under  is  the  very  best  prepara- 


280  THJ-:  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

tion  for  wheat.  The  same  facts  apply  to  peas  and  beans, 
and  explain  the  advantages  which  follow  the  growth  of 
wheat  after  these  crops. 

But  another  point  is  to  be  considered.  We  have  dwelt 
often  and  particularly  upon  the  necessity  for  thorough  cul- 
ture of  the  soil;  the  effect  of  the  atmosphere;  of  moisture; 
and  of  heat;  and  the  oxidizing  and  nitrifying  effects  of  por- 
ous soils  upon  organic  substances  contained  in  them.  Hence 
it  is  a  great  advantage  for  the  farmer  to  grow  crops  which 
require  cultivation  in  alternation  with  other  crops;  both  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  weeds  and  cleaning  the  land; 
and  of  gaining  all  the  benefits  from  the  repeated  stirring  of 
the  soil  during  the  summer.  Hence  it  is  that  the  practice 
of  a  rotation  of  crops  became  customary  in  the  infancy  of 
agriculture,  and  has  always  prevailed,  although  the  farmers 
who  followed  it  could  not  explain  the  reason  for  it,  but 
simply  followed  it  because  experience  had  taught  them  its 
value.  ("iSic  quoque  arva  requiescent,  fetibus  mutatis.^' — 
*'Thus  also  the  fields  rest,  the  produce  being  changed." 
Yirgil). 

But  if  a  rotation  of  crops  is  advantageous  and  profitable, 
it  follows  that  the  best  rotation;  that  which  will  confer  the 
most  of  these  beneficial  results  upon  the  land;  will  be  the 
best  for  the  farmer  to  follow.  And  we  would  suggest  the 
consideration,  whether  or  not,  the  present  rotation  common- 
ly followed,  of  four  crops  or  ''four  courses,"  viz :  wheat, 
grass,  corn,  and  oats;  might  not  be  very  much  improved, 
and  a  corresponding  advantage  be  secured  by  the  farmer. 

The  present  ordinary  rotation  is  based  upon  one  green 
crop — a  grass  and  clover  sod — plowed  under;  one  cultivated 
crop — corn;  and  one  manured  crop — wheat.  But  three 
exceedingly  exhaustive  crops  are  grown,  one  after  the  other, 
viz:  corn,  oats  and  wheat;  and  it  is  questionable  if  the  gen- 
eral low  average  yield  of  wheat  is  not  due  in  a  great  meas- 
ure to  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil  by  the  two  previous  exact- 
ing crops.  Corn  is  a  gross  feeder,  and  oats  pick  up  very 
eagerly  what  the  corn  leaves  behind  it.  Thus  the  wheat 
meets  with  decidedly  unfavorable  circumstances,  when  from 


AX    IMPROVED    ROTATION.  281 

its  character  it  should  be  favored  as  much  as  possible. 
The  largest  addition  of  plant  food  of  the  best  kind  to  the 
soil,  is  made  by  a  grass  and  clover  sod  plowed  in;  and  the 
soil  is  most  favorably  affected  by  the  frequent  cultivation 
given  to  what  are  known  as  hoed  crops.  Now,  if  instead  of 
5  years  crops  as  at  present  in  vogue  in  the  common  4  course 
rotation,  with  the  single  green  crop  plowed  in,  the  single 
cultivated  crop,  and  the  single  manuring,  there  could  be  8 
years  crops  with  two  green  crops  plowed  in,  two  cultivated^ 
and  two  manured  crops;  it  is  unquestionable  that  the  land 
would  be  greatly  improved  in  condition;  and  the  yield  of 
the  crops  would  be  increased;  and  all  with  corresponding 
profit  to  the  farmer.  The  two  rotations  would  compare 
with  each  other  as  follows: 

Presen  t  rota  tion .  Nav  rotation. 

Wheat  (manured).  Wheat  (manured). 

Grass  and  clover.  Grass  and  clover. 

Pasture.  Pasture 

Corn  (with  sod  plowed  in).  Corn  (with  sod  plowed  in). 

Oats.  Roots  (manured). 

Oats  or  barley. 

Clover  hay. 

Clover  seed  (sod  plowed  in). 

Moreover  there  would  be  a  crop  of  roots  to  be  fed  to  stock 
with  the  hay  and  straw,  and  some  bran  or  oil  meal  pur- 
chased, with  the  result  of  a  large  quantity  of  manure  which 
would  greatly  enrich  the  soil  and  very  much  add  to  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  farm. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

GRASS. 

Grass  is  the  pivot  upon  which  farm  crops  rotate.  It  is 
the  most  valuable  and  productive  crop  grown.  It  feeds  all 
the  stock;  produces  all  our  meat;  feeds  the  horses,  cows, 
and  sheep;  produces  our  milk  and  butter  and  cheese;  the 
hides,  and  wool;  and  thus  contributes  more  to  the  suste- 
nance and  comfort  of  mankind  than  any  other  farm  crop 
grown.  It  is  a  common  saying  that  "grass  farmers  are  the 
richest  farmers;"  and  it  is  quite  true,  because  grass  is  the 
easiest  crop  grown  and  yields  the  most  profitable  products. 
It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  then  that  grass  should  be 
cultivated  in  the  best  manner. 

Permanent  meadows  are  the  most  profitable  form  in  which 
grass  can  be  grown,  because  once  the  grass  is  established  it 
is  maintained  for  many  years  with  very  little  cost  and  trou- 
ble. In  regard  to  the  formation  and  maintenance  of  per- 
manent meadows  three  things  are  most  worthy  of  notice : 
the  preparation  of  the  land;  the  choice  of  varieties  of  grass; 
and  the  treatment  necessary  for  their  preservation. 

No  other  crop  exacts  such  a  carefiil  preparation  of  the 
soil  as  grass.  The  most  perfect  plowing  is  required  to  get 
a  smooth  level  surface;  and  thorough  harrowing,  or  what  is 
the  best,  a  thorough  w^orking  with  the  Acme  pulverizing 
harrow  is  indispensable.  The  land  should  be  plowed  at 
least  6  inches  deep.  If  the  surface  is  stony,  the  stones  should 
be  rolled  into  the  furrows  and  covered  at  the  next  turn;  the 
Acme  harrow  will  not  disturb  them,  and  they  are  out  of  the 
way  of  all  future  work.  After  the  plowing,  the  furrows 
are  leveled  down  and  pulverized  thoroughly,  and  the  work- 
ing with  this  implement  is  continued  until  the  soil  is  per- 
fectly fine  and  compact. 


GRASSES    FOR    PERMANENT    3IEAD0WS.  288^ 

A  liberal  quantity  of  manure  should  be  plowed  in  and 
will  be  well  mixed  with  the  soil  by  this  working,  without 
being  torn  from  its  place  in  the  furrows,  where  it  is  most 
wanted  and  not  on  the  surface-  The  seed  is^  then  sown. 
Orchard  grass  is  the  best  single  permanent  grass  for  mow- 
ing meadows,  makes  an  excellent  pasture,  and  is  useful  for 
soiling  purposes.  21  or  3  bushels  per  acre  is  required  to 
cover  the  surface  well;  but  the  habit  of  this  grass  is  to  grow 
in  bunches  and  the  thickest  sowing  will  not  make  a  sod. 
A  long  experience  with  this  grass  has  convinced  us  that  it 
is  the  best  single  grass  that  can  be  sow^n,  as  it  will  last  for 
30  years  at  least  in  good  condition  for  hay  and  pasture.  It 
is  early  in  maturity  and  comes  into  bloom  with  red  clover, 
hence  a  mixture  of  clover  with  it  is  advisable  when  the 
object  sought  is  hay  and  a  few  years  pasture;  but  for  per- 
manent meadow  the  grass  alone  is  preferable  when  but  one 
kind  is  sown. 

Mixed  grasses  produce  a  thicker  herbage  than  any  one 
kind,  and  a  selection  of  several  kinds  of  those  suited  to  the 
soil  is  desirable.  The  following  are  some  of  the  mixtures 
which  have  been  found  useful  on  the  kinds  of  soils  men- 
tioned. 

Mixture  of  Grasses, 
for  light  dry  soil. 

Orchard  grass 10  pounds. 

Tall  oat  grass 6  " 

Meadow  fescue 3  " 

Creeping  fescue 3  " 

Creeping  bent 3  " 

Perennial  rj-e  grass 8  " 

Timothy 3  " 

Kentucky  blue  grass 4  " 

,  Total  per  acre,  40  " 

FOR  HEAVY  SOILS. 

Orchard  grass 10  pounds. 

Timothy 6  "  ;. 

Yellow  oat  grass 5  " 

Perennial  rye  grass 10  " 

Tall  fescue 4  " 

Rough  stalked  meadow  grass....    5  *• 

Meadow  fescue 5  " 

Total  per  acre,  45       " 


284  THE    CULTURE    OF    FARM    CROPS. 

FOR  MOIST  ^OILS. 

Timothy 6  pounds. 

Fowl  meadow  grass 5 

Red  top 10 

Creeping  bent 5 

Floating  meadow  grass 5 

Water  meadow  grass 5 

Total  per  acre,  36 

FOR  SHADED  PASTURE  OR  OPEN  WOODS. 

Kentucky  blue  grass 5  pounds. 

Orchard  grass 5 

Creeping  bent 5 

Red  top 5 

Wood  meadow  grass 10 

Yellow  oat  grass 5 

Total  per  acre,  35 

In  localities  where  Kentucky  blue  grass  thrives  natu- 
rally, upon  limestone  soils  especially;  this  variety  is  unsur- 
passed, and  indeed  unequalled  for  pasture;  and  one  who  has 
seen  the  verdant  meadows  of  this  grass  in  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
southern  Ohio,  and  Indiana,  and  parts  of  Tennessee,  will 
have  no  doubt  of  the  possibility  of  making  permanent  pas- 
tures and  meadows  in  our  American  climate,  which  has 
been  supposed  to  be  unfavorable  for  the  culture  of  grass. 

For  temporary  meadows,  there  are  no  better  varieties 
than  the  popular  mixture  of  timothy  and  clover,  which  Us- 
ually remains  for  two  years,  being  mown  once  for  hay,  and 
used  for  pasture  the  next  year.  6  lbs.  each  of  seed  is  the 
usual  quantity,  but  we  have  sown  a  peck,  each,  of  the  seed; 
which  is  12  lbs.  of  timothy  and  15  lbs.  of  clover,  on  rather 
poor  land  with  better  results  than  from  thinner  sowing. 

In  sowing  grass  seeds  we  prefer  to  sow  one-half  each  way, 
so  as  to  get  the  most  even  covering  of  the  soil.  As  the  seeds 
are  very  small  and  light,  deep  covering  is  to  be  avoided; 
and  usually  the  soft  mellow  soil  left  in  small  ridges  and 
furrows  by  the  Acme  harrow,  will  furnish  sufficient  cover- 
ing by  its  natural  settlement,  or  by  the  beating  of  the  first 
shower;  without  any  special  work  for  the  purpose.  We 
much  prefer  to  sow  grass  and  clover  seed  by  themselves  and 
without  any  crop  of  grain,  fitting  the  soil  specially  for  the 
seed  as  above  described,  and  sowing  in  August.  A  pound 
•of  turnip  seed  sown  with  the  grass  seed  will  afford  excellent 


SOWING    GRASS   SEEDS.       ''  285 

protection  for  the  young  grass,  the  broad  leaves  of  the  tur- 
nips giving  welcome  shade  and  protection  from  early  frosts, 
and  from  the  too  warm  winter's  sun;  and  the  roots  dying, 
through  the  winter,  furnish  very  useful  food  for  the  young 
crop  in  the  spring.  But  with  fall  plowing  ana  early  sow- 
ing in  the  spring,  grass  seeds  may  be  sown  with  safety  then, 
and  will  often  give  a  crop  of  hay,  or  pasture  for  sheep  in 
the  fall. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

FODDER  AND  SOILING  CROPS. 

The  cultivation  of  fodder  crops  is  one  of  the  indispensa- 
ble methods  of  the  economical  use  of  land  and  of  the  feed- 
ing of  cattle.  Cicero  observed,  in  his  ancient  time,  that . 
"the  feeding  of  cattle  was  the  most  important  part  of  agri- 
culture." But  in  these  days,  when  the  exigencies  of  our 
social  conditions  call  for  every  effort  on  the  part  of  every 
producer  to  decrease  his  expenses  and  increase  his  income^ 
it  is  necessary  to  make  the  land  yield  the  largest  produce 
of  the  most  nutritious  food.  It  must  be  a  very  good  acre 
of  meadow,  and  one  of  pasture,  that  will  together  support 
one  cow  for  a  whole  year;  but  by  the  culture  of  fodder  crops 
of  the  right  kind,  and  the  use  of  the  silo  for  preserving 
these  crops  green  and  succulent  through  the  winter,  one 
acre  may  be  made  to  support  two  or  three  head  of  cattle 
the  year  round;  thus  practically  more  than  trebling  the 
value  of  the  land,  by  the  increased  income  from  it. 

Soiling  is  by  no  means  a  modern  practice,  for  it  has 
been  made  use  of  for  many  centuries.  The  advantages  of 
it  are  obvious.  It  consists  in  growing  green  fodder  crops, 
and  cutting  these  for  feeding  stock  in  yards  or  lots,  or  sheds. 
There  is  no  waste  of  food  in  this  way;  none  is  trodden  un- 
der foot  or  fouled  and  made  useless;  and  every  pound  of 
manure,  both  liquid  and  solid,  may  be  saved.  In  the  South, 
this  practice  prevailed  long  before  it  was  introduced  into 
practice  in  the  North,  and  cow  penning  has  been  used  for 
enriching  the  land  and  economizing  feed,  where  the  climate, 
but  much  more  the  prevailing  system  of  agriculture,  forbids 
the  pasturage  of  stock  to  any  large  extent.  The  author 
has  practiced  this  system  in  his  dairy  for  several  years,  with 
the  results  of  bringing  up  a  practically  barren  farm  by  de- 
grees, during  a  few  years,  into  a  high  state  of  productive- 
ness.    Objection  is  made  by  some  persons  that  it  is  a  costly 


THE    PRACTICE   OF   SOILING.  287 

practice.  It  is  true  that  it  costs  more  than  turning  out  the 
stock  on  to  a  pasture,  but  the  extra  cost  is  not  much,  while 
the  income  from  the  land  is  fully  trebled.  One  boy  of  16 
years,  is  able  to  cut  and  bring  to  the  barn  the  feed  for  30 
cows;  and  to  feed  them  and  keep  them  clean.  ^  This  is  all 
the  extra  cost,  unless  one  counts  the  plowing  of  the  land, 
and  the  carrying  of  the  manure  to  it  for  the  growth  of  the 
crops.  But  if  this  is  taken  into  account,  one  might  as  well 
complain  of  the  cost  of  milking  the  extra  cows  fed,  and  tak- 
ing care  of  the  increased  product  of  the  milk  and  butter. 

The  system  is  very  simple.  Feeding  sheds  and  yards  are 
provided  for  the  cattle,  with  racks  for  the  fodder.  Every 
necessary  arrangement  is  provided  for  saving  all  the  man- 
ure. A  field  is  first  sown  with  clover  and  grass  and  another 
T/ith  fall  rye;  these  make  the  beginning  and  provide  the 
first  feeding  in  the  season,  which  begins  in  May,  when  the 
rye  is  ready  for  cutting.  After  the  rye  is  used  up,  the 
clover  is  ready  and  the  rye  ground  is  plowed  and  sown  with 
early  sweet  corn,  which  is  ready  as  soon  as  the  clover  or 
orchard  grass,  or  both,  have  been  exhausted.  A  mower 
(one  horse)  is  kept  in  the  fields,  and  as  soon  as  the  dew  is 
off  the  crops,  a  sufficient  supply  is  cut — at  the  first — for  two 
days;  one  days  stock  is  drawn  in  for  the  cattle;  and  the 
other  is  left  on  the  ground  or  in  the  barn  for  the  next  day. 
The  next  day,  a  new  supply  is  cut  for  the  following  day,  so 
that  a  days  stock  is  always  kept  ahead.  For  rainy  weather, 
provision  is  made  for  a  longer  supply;  if  it  is  thought  desir- 
able. This  goes  on  all  the  summer  with  perfect  regularity; 
and  when  one  crop  comes  in,  what  is  left  of  the  preceding 
one  is  cured  for  winter,  or  put  in  the  silo. 

A  silo  is  simply  an  air  tight  receptacle;  a  square  deep 
building  of  stone,  concrete,  or  plank;  which  may  be  made 
in  a  cellar,  or  a  mow  in  the  barn;  in  which  the  newly  cut 
green  fodder  is  packed  away  and  pressed  down  tightly  un- 
der a  covering  of  planks,  heavily  weighted.  The  green  fod- 
der heats  and  ferments  somewhat;  but  as  the  air  is  excluded 
it  does  not  mold  or  decay;  but  remains  discolored  to  some 
extent,  and  makes  a  very  palatable  fodder.      One  acre  of 


288  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

fodder  thus  preserved  has  afforded  full  provision  for  one 
cow  or  ox  for  40  months. 

Pasturing  is  a  wasteful  practice  except  upon  very  cheap 
lands  and  where  labor  is  scarce.  Where  land  is  worth  $50 
an  acre  and  upwards,  it  is  a  practice  that  is  far  from  eco- 
nomical unless  in  a  few  special  cases  where  partial  pasturing 
at  times  is  desirable.  Instead  of  pasturing,  green  fodder 
crops  are  thus  grown,  and  cut  and  fed  to  stock  in  yards  or 
lots. 

For  the  purposes  of  winter  feeding  there  are  several  other 
crops  besides  grass,  which  may  be  grown  very  profitably 
and  will  yield  twice  or  three  times  as  much  as  grass  will; 
and  besides  by  choosing  the  right  crops  which  follow  each 
other  as  soon  as  one  is  cut  and  used,  another  becomes  ready; 
so  that  a  succession  of  food  is  provided  for  the  stock;  while 
in  pasturing,  the  grass  is  only  in  the  best  condition  for  a 
short  time.  In  this  way  the  costly  land  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  large  towns  and  cities  may  be  worked  with  more 
profit  than  the  cheaper  farms  which  are  remote  from  mar- 
kets. For  dairying,  this  system  of  growing  fodder  crops  i& 
indispensable  to  success. 

Clover  is  the  first  fodder  crop  which  demands  consider- 
ation, both  for  its  value  for  all  purposes  for  which  it  is  grown, 
and  for  its  easy  culture.  The  introduction  of  this  plant  in- 
to agriculture  marked  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  art,  for 
it  certainly  worked  a  revolution  in  its  practice.  Clover  be- 
longs to  the  leguminous  or  pod  bearing  order  of  plants,  of 
which  the  pea  and  bean  are  the  typical  examples.  It  has 
some  special  characteristics  which  should  not  go  unnoticed 
here.  It  has  a  long  fusiform  or  spindle  shaped  tap  root 
which  penetrates  deep  into  the  soil,  extending  sometimes  3 
or  4  feet  before  it  passes  into  the  form  of  fibers.  These  long 
roots  extend  the  feeding  space  of  the  plant  very  considera- 
bly, and  explain  the  interesting  fact  that  a  crop  of  clover 
is  able  to  gather  from  the  soil  as  much  nitrogen  as  5  crops 
of  wheat;  as  much  potash  as  4  crops;  and  as  much  lime  as 
8  crops ;  and  thus  bring  to  the  surface  and  leave  in  its  roots 
and  stubble,  so  much  additional  amount  of  plant  food  for 


CLOVER    HAY.  289 

the  nourishment  of  succeeding  crops.  A  crop  of  clover 
plowed  in  as  a  fertilizer  adds  to  the  available  plant  food  ini 
the  soil  as  much  as  20  loads  of  farm  manure,  and  the  large, 
percentage  of  nitrogen  in  its  composition  makes  it  equally- 
valuable  for  the  feeding  of  animals  and  the  production  of 
manure.  Its  culture  is  too  well  known  to  need  any  detailed 
descrij)tion,  but  it  is  perhaps  proper  to  remark  here,  that, 
the  thorough  fitting  of  the  soil  for  the  seed  is  of  the  greatest, 
importance  for  its  successful  growth. 

The  period  of  cutting  clover  for  hay  is  very  important, 
because  of  the  change  in  its  character  as  it  approaches  ma- 
turity.    This  change  is  shown  by  the  following  table. 
Composition  of  Clover  Hay. 


>%0  0) 

RedcloTerhay.  g,^  '5  S  g  ^S^ 


la        g=l       S£« 


Cut  in  full  blossom 77.1  13.4  29.9  3.2  35^.8 

Cut  when  ripe 77.7  9.4  20.3  2.0  48.0 

The  very  great  difference  in  digestible  nutriment  is  spe- 
cially noticeable;  being  50  per  cent,  in  the  nitrogenous  mat- 
ter— the  protein — and  nearly  50  yer  cent,  in  the  carbona- 
ceous or  fat  producing  matter,  and  in  the  fat.  This  shows 
in  a  most  conspicuous  manner  the  more  valuable  character 
of  clover  at  its  blossoming  stage,  when  it  is  the  most  useful 
for  feeding  or  for  a  green  manure. 

Fresh  seed  only  should  be  sown,  and  from  6  to  12  lbs. 
per  acre  is  required,  as  the  land  may  be  more  or  less  fertile; 
the  richer  land  requiring  the  least  seed.  Clover  seed  should 
be  saved  for  home  use  by  every  farmer.  The  seed  is  con- 
tained in  the  aftermath,  which  is  left  to  grow  and  blossom 
and  ripen;  which  it  does  in  September.  The  clover  is  then 
mown  and  the  straw  is  left  on  the  field  in  winrows  until  it 
is  perfectly  dry,  when  it  is  taken  to  a  suitable  place  and 
thrashed,  the  dry  pods  separating  with  great  readiness,  and 
the  seed  being  easily  freed  when  the  heads  are  in  this  dry 
state.  The  seed  may  be  partially  cleared  from  the  pods,  if 
the  straw  is  thrashed  in  a  machine,  and  crowded  in  so  as  to 
rub  the  heads  and  break  up  the  chaff.    This  is  much  helped 


290         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

by  hanging  a  sack  or  a  board  in  the  rear  of  the  machine,  so 
as  to  clog  the  cylinder  somewhat  and  cause  a  rubbing  action, 
which  breaks  the  pods.  The  fanning  mill  will  clean  the 
seed  sufficiently  for  home  use.  As  considerable  seed  remains 
in  the  chaff,  this  should  be  scattered  over  pastures  and 
meadows  which  may  be  reseeded  in  this  manner. 

LucERN,  or  alfalfa,  is  the  nearest  substitute  for  clover  that 
we  have.  It  is  not  however  recommended  for  use  where 
clover  will  grow;  but  in  the  drier  regions  where  clover  will 
not  succeed,  lucern  is  a  most  useful  crop,  and  is  exceedingly 
productive  under  irrigation.  It  is  mostly  used  green  for 
feeding  cattle  and  horses,  as  it  makes  inferior  hay,  the  stalks 
being  woody  and  hard,  and  most  of  the  leaves  being  lost  in 
the  curing.  It  is  a  deep  rooted  plant,  and  belongs  to  the  same 
botanical  family  as  clover.  The  seed  used  per  acre  is  12 
to  20  lbs.  The  usual  manner  of  sowing  is  in  drills,  12 
inches  apart.  As  much  as  80  tons  of  green  fodder  has  been 
cut  from  an  acre  of  this  plant,  on  the  rich  irrigated  fields 
of  the  California  river  bottoms  and  tule  lands. 

Rye  is  one  of  the  most  useful  green  fodder  crops,  and  is 
indispensable  when  soiling  is  practiced,  because  it  is  the  first 
green  crop  that  is  ready  for  cutting  in  the  spring.  It  is  also 
a  valuable  green  manure  crop  for  the  same  reason,  as  it  may 
be*  plowed  under  in  May  and  can  be  followed  by  corn,  or 
buckwheat,  for  the  same  purpose.  For  green  fodder  three 
to  five  bushels  of  seed  per  acre  are  sown  late  in  August,  so 
as  to  get  the  crop  well  rooted  and  forward  before  winter. 
In  the  Southern  states  this  crop  makes  the  best  of  late  fall, 
winter,  and  spring  pasture;  and  deserves  especial  notice  for 
this  purpose;  for  in  the  South,  especially,  improvement  in 
the  culture  of  farm  crops  is  exceedingly  desirable  and  there 
is  an  abounding  necessity  for  it. 

Fodder  Corn  is  the  most  productive  of  all  the  crops 
grown  for  feeding  in  a  green  state.  On  good  land  it  will 
yield  40  tons  of  fresh  fodder  per  acre  and  on  moderately 
good  land  25  tons  is  a  common  yield.  The  author  has 
grown  600  lbs.  of  evergreen  sweet  corn  to  the  square  rod, 
which  is  equal  to  48  tons  per  acre,  and  the  whole  crop  was 


CORN    FOR    FODDER  291 

quite  equal  to  the  plot  cut  for  weighing.  This  crop  was 
not  cut  until  the  ears  had  formed  and  was  cut  up  in  a  fod- 
der cutter,  ears  and  stalks  together,  and  fed  with  some  bran 
and  corn  meal,  to  dairy  cows  with  a  most  rem^kable  in- 
crease in  the  yield  of  cream  and  butter. 

Corn  should  never  be  sown  broadcast,  as  it  needs  light 
and  air  to  mature  its  sap  and  make  a  substantial  and  nutri- 
tious growth.  The  best  mode  of  culture,  and  that  usually 
practiced  by  farmers  and  dairymen  who  soil  their  stock,  or 
w^ho  preserve  their  crops  by  ensilage,  is  to  plant  in  rows  3 
feet  apart,  and  from  6  inches  apart — with  single  plants — ^to 
18  inches — with  4  or  5  plants  together.  This  gives  suffi- 
cient room  for  the  air  and  sun  light  to  reach  the  plants,  and 
for  the  frequent  cultivation  of  the  land.  (See  article  on 
corn  culture  in  the  next  chapter.)  The  seed  required  for 
this  close  planting  is  about  one  bushel  to  the  acre.  n 

The  early  varieties  of  sweet  corn  are  especially  fit  for  fod- 
der crops.  As  soon  as  the  fall  rye  is  cut  off,  or  as  the  strip 
of  the  field  is  cleared,  the  ground  is  manured  and  plowed. 
Liberal  manuring  is  the  secret  6f  large  fodder  crops.  The 
land  is  then  planted  with  some  early  variety  of  sweet  com, 
the  Narraganset  being  commonly  prefered  on  account  of  its 
longer  stalks  and  larger  ears,  while  it  is  only  a  few  days  lat- 
er than  the  earliest.  By  the  middle  of  July  this  crop  is 
ready  for  use,  and  as  a  strip  of  it  is  removed  the  ground  is 
at  once  prepared  for  another  crop;  usually  evergreen  or 
mammoth  sweet  corn;  which  matures  for  use  in  September 
and  thus  makes  the  third  crop  taken  from  the  land  in  5 
months.  With  ordinary  good  culture  and  manuring,  at 
least  40  or  50  tons  of  green  fodder  may  thus  be  taken  from 
one  acre  of  land ;  which  is  sufficient  to  feed  ten  cows  during 
this  period,  at  the  rate  of  one  ton  per  cow  per  month  or  60 
lbs.  to  the  cow  per  day.  This  fact  which  has  been  proved 
in  continual  practice  by  the  author  in  his  dairy,  during 
several  years,  and  also  by  many  other  dairy  farmers,  goes 
to  prove  the  great  advantage  of  this  method  of  growing 
crops  for  the  feeding  of  stock,  and  the  improvement  of  the 
soil;  a  necessary  result  of  the  feeding  of  so  much  stock. 


292  THE   CULTURE   OF    FARM    CROPS. 

One  point  should  not  be  neglected  here.  This  is  the  ad- 
vantage gained  by  the  use  of  the  most  effective  implements 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  and  its  rapid  preparation  for 
the  crops;  avoiding  loss  of  time,  which  might  be  a  serious 
detriment  to  the  operation.  It  is  only  just  to  acknowledge 
the  help  which  is  afforded  by  such  an  implement  as  the 
Acme  pulverizing  harrow,  by  which  an  acre  of  rye  or  corn 
stubble  may  be  fitted  in  the  best  manner  for  the  next  crop 
in  one  hour;  the  soil  being  thoroughly  worked  to  a  depth 
of  4  or  5  inches  without  any  plowing.  In  fact  the  author 
has  cut  off  a  strip  of  rye  of  a  quarter  of  an  acre  for  feeding 
his  cows,  and  within  30  minutes  has  had  it  planted  with 
sweet  corn,  and  fertilized;  by  the  use  of  the  Acme  harrow 
and  a  corn  planter  with  a  fertilizer  attachment. 

Other  crops  suitable  for  soiling  or  feeding  either  green  or 
di:^,  are  millet;  Hungarian  grass,  which  is  practically  the 
same  as  millet;  the  Southern  cow  pea;  oats  and  peas  mixed 
together;  and  sorghum  (which  must  be  used  half  grown  or 
it  becomes  too  hard  for  use).  For  these  crops  the  quantity 
of  seed  to  be  used  will  be  found  stated  in  the  appendix ;  the 
methods  of  cultivation  are  simply  those  suitable  for  any 
crop,  applying  them  to  the  principles  described  in  former 
chapters,  and  remembering  that  to  a  large  extent  the  soil  is 
only  the  vehicle  by  which  we  convey  nutriment  to  the 
crops. 


GHASS   CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 

GRAIN  CROPS. 

Wheat  is  the  most  important  of  the  grain  crops  although 
it  is  surpassed  in  value  and  quantity  by  corn.  It  is  the 
noblest  of  all  farm  crops,  being  the  staff  of  life  to  the  human 
race,  and  the  daily  bread  of  civilized  mankind.  It  is  a  pro- 
duct of  civilization,  and  is  not  found  growing  wild;  indeed 
its  origin  is  unknown,  and  is  a  matter  of  dispute  among  per- 
sons who  are  curious  about  such  questions.  Consequently 
it  is  the  most  susceptible  plant  that  is  grown  to  the  circum- 
stances and  conditions  of  its  culture;  and  hence  it  varies 
very  much  with  its  locality,  climate,  soil,  and  the  kind  of 
manure  or  fertilizers  used.  The  wheats  of  tho  Eastern  states 
are  entirely  changed  in  character  after  two  or  three  years 
of  culture  in  the  west,  and  the  grain  grown  in  the  dry  cli- 
mate of  Colorado,  Dakota,  and  Oregon,  differ  so  much  from 
that  grown  elsewhere,  as  to  be  easily  distinguishable  even 
by  a  photograph.  Hence  the  attempt  to  change  the  char- 
acter of  wheat  by  the  introduction  of  seed  from  distant  local- 
ities will  fail,  excepting  temporarily;  for  the  variation 
caused  by  special  environments  will  soon  change  the  char- 
acter of  the  seed,  and  any  difference  w^hich  might  have  ex- 
isted will  soon  disappear.  Thus  the  improvement  of  the 
grain  must  come  by  selection  of  seed,  and  by  high  cultiva- 
tion ;  and  not  by  the  introduction  of  foreign  grain,  however 
superior  its  appearance,  character,  and  yield  may  be.  It  is 
most  probable  that  all  the  different  varieties  of  wheat,  or 
the  supposed  different  varieties,  which  number  hundreds  or 
thousands,  are  after  all  nothing  more  than  the  product  of 
climatic  influences  which  are  paramount  in  the  growth  of 
this  grain;  for  there  is  nothing  permanent  in  their  character, 
and  a  change  of  locality  speedily  changes  the  characteristics 
and  reduces  or  advances  them — as  the  case  may  be — to  a 
similarity  with  the  native  kinds. 


294         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

The  peculiar  kind  of  hard  spring  wheat,  for  instance,  is  a 
a  product  from  the  seed  of  the  Scotch  Fife,  which  in  its  origi- 
nal cool,  moist  climate,  is  plump,  soft,  and  filled  with  starch; 
by  reason  of  its  long  season  of  growth ;  but  in  the  short  sum- 
mer of  Dakota  and  northern  Minnesota,  the  grain  is  formed 
and  ripened  in  a  few  days,  and  hence  it  is  small,  dark  colored, 
hard,  and  deficient  in  starch,  but  very  rich  in  nitrogen. 
Some  samples  afibrd  18  per  cent,  of  gluten,  and  this  enables 
the  wheat  to  produce  a  very  stiff*flour  which  absorbs  a  large 
quantity  of  water  and  produces  comparatively  more  bread 
than  the  white,  soft,  starchy  wheats.  Thus  all  the  care  and 
culture  which  may  be  given  to  a  sample  of  wheat  foreign  to 
any  locality,  will  fail  to  improve  it,  or  fix  its  type  in  its 
new  home;  and  to  grow  wheat  successfully  it  must  be,  at 
least  to  some  extent,  suited  to  the  climate  and  soil  in  Avhich 
it  is  grown.  No  doubt  the  many  failures  in  this  respect 
"with  new  seed,  or  new  varieties,  are  due  to  this  peculiarity 
of  the  grain;  and  some  climates  well  suited  to  spring  or  fall 
wheat  have  been  condemned  as  unfit  for  the  growth  of  one 
or  the  other  variety,  simply  because  a  mistake  has  been 
made  in  the  selection  of  seed. 

The  yield  of  wheat  is  also  affected  by  climate.  The  aver- 
age product  of  Colorado  is  22  bushels;  of  Connecticut  17J 
bushels;  of  Michigan  19  bushels;  while  the  Southern  states 
produce  only  from  5  to  9  bushels  per  acre,  and  Louisiana 
"with  its  rich  soil  yields  no  more  than  an  average  of  3^ 
bushels  to  the  acre.  No  doubt  some  of  this  deficiency  in 
the  yield  in  the  Southern  states  is  due  to  the  wretchedly 
poor  culture;  the  prevailing  mode  of  cultivation  being  to 
sow  the  seed  upon  the  ground  amid  the  overpowering  weeds, 
and  the  corn  stalks  which  have  been  stripped  of  leaves  and 
topped;  and  covering  it  by  means  of  a  bull  tongue  plow  by 
which  the  ground  is  merely  scratched.  Wheat  cannot  be 
grown  successfully  in  such  a  manner  as  this.  On  the  con- 
trary the  very  best  preparation  should  be  made  for  it.  A 
crop  of  42  bushels  per  acre  has  been  grown  by  the  author 
on  an  oat  stubble  vv^hich  was  plowed  as  soon  as  the  oats  were 
removed,  and  then  well  harrowed.     The  working  with  the 


CULTURE   OF    WHEAT,  295 

Acme  harrow  was  repeated  twice  before  sowing.  20  loads 
per  acre  of  good  manure  was  plowed  in,  and  the  two  work- 
ings with  the  Acme  mingled  this  with  the  soil.  Just  before 
sowing  40  bushels  of  air  slaked  lime  per  acre  were  spread, 
after  which  the  seed  (the  Treadwell  variety)  wHs  sown  at 
the  rate  of  one  bushel  per  acre,  and  covered,  along  with  the 
lime,  by  the  Acme,  which  was  lapped  half  over  the  previous 
bout  at  each  turn.  The  plants  stooled  out  well  and  grew 
evenly,  with  the  result  mentioned,  13  acres  producing  545 
bushels  of  cleaned  wheat.  Early  plowing,  when  wheat  suc- 
ceeds oats,  is  indispensable.  If  left  later,  the  ground  becomes 
hardened  by  the  dry  weather,  and  the  plowing  is  defective. 
No  other  crop  demands  more  thorough  preparation  of  the 
soil,  by  perfect  pulverization  and  firming  by  repeated  har- 
rowing. Wheat  is  a  shallow  rooted  plant  and  a  poor  for- 
ager; hence  its  food  must  be  prepared  for  it  and  placed 
within  its  reach.  The  early  plowing,  when  manure  made 
the  previous  winter  and  well  decayed  is  covered  in;  the  fre- 
quent workings  after  that;  and  the  lime;  all  tend  to  reduce 
the  manure  to  its  original  elements,  and  to  liberate  a  large 
quactity  of  plant  food  from  the  coil,  and  thus  provide  a 
rich  and  copious  nourishment  for  the  crop. 

Wheat  is  profitable  when  30  bushels  per  acre  can  be 
grown,  and  that  this  yield  can  be  secured  is  unquestionable 
if  the  necessary  conditions  of  the  soil  are  provided  for  it. 
The  author  once  sowed  3  ounces  of  wheat  upon  a  square 
rod  of  ground  in  rows  12  inches  apart.  The  ground  was 
hoed  once  a  week  from  the  planting  until  the  spreading  plants 
wholly  covered  it,  which  was  before  the  winter  set  in.  In 
the  spring  the  soil  was  stirred  as  much  as  possible  until  it 
could  no  longer  be  done.  At  the  harvest  the  grain  was 
thrashed,  and  made  34  lbs.  which  was  equal  to  90  bushels 
and  40  lbs.  per  acre.  English  farmers  by  good  culture 
and  the  use  of  the  hoe  in  spring  have  grown  from  65 
to  70  bushels  per  acre.  Is  there  any  reason  why,  with 
equally  good  culture,  American  farmers  could  not  produce 
a  similar  yield  ?     We  think  not. 

Corn,  like  wheat,  is  greatly  influenced  by  climate  and 


296  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

culture.  Being  a  semi-tropical  plant  it  might  be  supposed 
that  it  would  flourish  best  in  a  Southern  climate,  and  yet 
the  product  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  averages  more 
than  twice  as  much  as  that  of  all  the  Southern  states,  and 
four  times  as  much  as  the  yield  in  South  Carolina  and  Geor- 
gia, where  the  soil  is  quite  as  rich  as  in  the  stony  fields  and 
among  the  granite  rocks  of  northern  New  England. 
Southern  corn  has  a  very  much  larger  grain  than  that 
grown  in  the  North,  but  the  custom  of  growing  single  stalks, 
which  prevails  in  the  South,  reduces  the  yield  per  acre  very 
largely.  This  method  is  "a  custom  that  would  be  more 
honored  in  the  breach  than  the  observance;"  for  the  author, 
on  his  farm  in  North  Carolina,  where  a  part  of  the  year  is 
spent,  has  grown  corn  successfully  in  the  Northern  manner 
with  3  stalks  to  the  hill,  and  has  produced  a  full  crop;  hav- 
ing 3  ears  to  each  hill. 

The  large  yield  of  a  full  crop  of  corn  is  due  to  its  longer 
season  of  growth  and  its  vigorous  rooting.  The  roots  of 
corn  have  been  found  to  extend  8  feet  in  each  direction,  and 
in  a  crop  grown  by  the  author  which  yielded  99  bushels  per 
acre  of  shelled  grain,  the  roots,  when  the  soil  was  washed 
from  them  by  means  of  a  stream  of  water  through  a  hose, 
formed  a  close  network  completely  through  the  rows,  and  a 
mass  of  fibers  enveloped  every  visible  particle  of  manure. 
This  crop  was  grown  on  a  heavy  clover  sod  from  the  pre- 
vious year,  well  manured  late  in  the  fall  and  during  the 
winter,  and  plowed  7  inches  deep,  late  in  the  spring,  when 
the  clover  was  a  foot  high;  the  farrow'  slices  being  lapped 
in  the  usual  manner  at  an  inclination  of  about  45  degrees. 
After  the  plowing  the  soil  was  well  worked  with  the  Acme 
harrow;  which  did  not  disturb  the  sod  or  the  manure,  but 
mixed  it  with  the  pulverized  soil  in  the  most  intimate  man- 
ner. The  seed  was  planted  with  a  one  horse  planter  in  rows 
82  feet  apart,  dropping  3  or  4  seeds  at  intervals  of  18  inches. 
The  part  of  the  field  thus  prepared  was  two  acres,  and  the 
crop  was  husked  by  the  bushel.  398  bushels  of  ears  were 
measured  twice,  and  paid  for;  and  when  shelled  the  produce 
\yas  198  bushels  of  shelled  grain.     This  however  is  by  no 


THE   CULTURE   OF   CORN.  297 

means  a  surprising  yield  of  this  crop.  A  well  known  far- 
mer of  long  Island,  N.  Y.,  Mr.  Wm.  Crozier,  has  produced 
more  than  100  bushels  per  acre.  Mr.  E.  S.  Carman  of  New 
Jersey  has  grown  140  bushels  per  acre;  the  author  has 
made  a  crop  on  one-sixth  of  an  acre  of  25  bushels  and  8 
pounds,  a  farmer  in  Ohio  has  grown  upon  a  small  plot  at 
the  rate  of  246  bushels  of  grain  to  the  acre,  and  a  few  far- 
mers boys  in  New  Hampshire,  in  competition  for  a  prize 
offered  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  grew  crops  of 
from  80  to  120  bushels  of  grain  per  acre. 

Why  then  is  it,  that  in  the  virgin  soils  of  Iowa  and  Ne- 
braska, which  team  with  the  richest  plant  food,  no  more 
than  an  average  of  40  bushels  per  acre  is  reached  ?  Inad- 
equate culture  is  the  secret  of  small  crops  always  and  every- 
where; while  thorough  tillage  of  well  fed  soil  ensures 
the  largest  yield.  Weeds  and  corn  cannot  give  each  a  full 
■crop  together. 

Corn  cannot  be  improved  by  the  importation  of  seed  from 
distant  localities.  It  is  a  creature  of  climate  and  soil.  The 
best  varieties  of  corn  have  been  produced  by  constant,  care- 
ful selection,  and  thorough  culture,  for  years  upon  the  same 
farm.  One  specially  productive  variety  has  been  grown  on 
the  same  farm  for  80  years;  and  another  has  been  improved 
from  a  yield  of  40  bushels  per  acre  up  to  80  bushels,  by  Dr. 
E.  Lewis  Sturtevant  of  Massachusetts,  during  10  years  of 
•careful  selection  and  culture. 

Corn  has  a  bisexual  character,  being  what  is  known  as 
a  monoecious  plant;  that  is  one  having  staminate  and  pis- 
tillate, or  male  and  female  flowers,  distinct  upon  the  same 
perfect  plant.  The  tassel  is  the  staminate  flow^er;  the  silk 
is  the  pistillate  or  female  flower.  Every  farmer  at  husking 
time  has  observed  the  numerous  stalks  which  have  borne 
cnly  a  tassel  and  have  been  without  ears.  These  are  imper- 
fect plants,  and  when  they  are  numerous  they  greatly  reduce 
the  yield.  These  imperfect  barren  plants,  however,  serve 
their  purpose  as  males  in  impregnating  the  perfect  plants; 
and  according  to  a  natural  law  which  is  expressed  in  the 
2)hrase  "like  always  produces  like,"  these  plants  have  the 


298         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

effect  of  making  the  seed  which  they  impregnate,  produce 
plants  like  themselves;  barren  male  plants;  which  have  no 
fruit,  and  are  consequently  worth  nothing  except  for  the 
stalks  and  leaves.  Hence  a  most  important  part  of  the  cul- 
ture ot  corn  is  to  remove  the  flowers  from  these  stalks,  and 
prevent  them  from  exercising  their  masculine  functions  and 
propagating  their  useless  kind.  This  system  should  always 
be  pursued  when  the  improvement  of  corn  is  attempted. 
Perseverance  in  this  emasculation  of  barren  plants  (by  Dr. 
Sturtevant,  above  mentioned),  has  tended  to  increase  the 
yield  of  a  crop,  after  a  few  years,  from  40  to  80  bushels  of 
grain  per  acre;  the  increase  being  chiefly  due  to  the  entire 
elimination  of  barren  and  earless  stalks  from  the  field. 

A  fatal  mistake  in  the  culture  of  corn,  is  the  use  of  the 
plow  after  the  roots  have  spread  across  the  rows;  and  this 
happens  when  the  plants  are  about  18  inches  tall.  After 
that,  only  the  surface  should  be  stirred,  but  this  should  be 
done  frequently.  For  a  large  yield,  this  working  of  the 
surface  should  be  done  weekly,  and  it  is  the  more  necessary 
as  the  weather  may  be  drier;  the  loosening  of  the  soil — as 
has  been  explained  in  a  previous  chapter — very  much  in- 
creasing the  ability  of  the  porous  earth  to  absorb  moisture 
during  the  night,  as  it  is  condensed  by  the  cooling  of  the 
air,  and  by  the  circulation  of  the  moist  air  in  the  mellow 
earth  as  the  temperature  changes. 

Oats  usually  follow  corn  in  the  prevalent  rotation.  The 
popular  notion  that  oats  are  not  exhaustive  of  the  soil  is 
quite  a  mistaken  one.  The  whole  plant  is  richer  in  nitrogen 
and  j)otash,  and  nearly  as  rich  in  phosphoric  acid  as  wheat; 
the  grain  of  which  only  surpasses  oats  in  respect  of  the  quan- 
tity of  phosphoric  acid  contained  in  it.  Besides,  oats  yield 
actually  a  larger  weight  of  produce  in  an  average  crop  than 
wheat  does;  hence  it  takes  more  from  the  soil. 

This  should  be  considered  in  regard  to  its  eflfect  upon  the 
soil;  for  when  manure  is  applied  to  the  crop,  the  yield  is 
very  considerably  increased.  Ten  loads  of  barn  yard  man- 
ure per  acre  have  increased  the  yield  of  a  crop  of  oats  to  78 
bushels  per  acre,  when  with  no  manure,  the  yield  on  another 


THE   CULTURE   OF   OATS   AND    BARLEY.  299 

part  of  the  same  field,  naturally  quite  as  fertile,  was  only  52 
bushels.  The  land  in  this  case  was  sown  with  clover  witk 
the  oats  and  on  the  manured  land  the  clover  was  much  bet- 
ter than  on  the  other  part  of  the  field,  which  showed  that 
the  manure  was  by  no  means  exhausted  by  the  oats.  Oats 
will  succeed  well  on  land  that  is  too  moist  for  wheat  or  bar- 
ley, and  newly  broken  sod  land  usually  produces  a  good 
crop.  When  sown  on  a  com  stubble,  the  land  should  be 
plowed  in  the  fall,  the  same  way  in  which  the  corn  rows 
ran,  so  as  to  cover  the  stubs  completely.  For  this  end  the 
corn  should  always  be  cut  low  and  near  the  ground.  In 
the  spring  a  thorough  working  with  the  Acme  harrow  fits 
the  ground  in  an  excellent  manner  for  the  oats.  21  bushels 
of  seed  should  be  sown  per  acre,  and  the  Acme  harrow  cov- 
ers the  seed  perfectly  and  to  the  pro]  er  depth,  as  well  as 
a  drill  will.  This  grain  varies  considerably  in  character, 
weighing  from  24  to  55  lbs.  per  bushel.  In  a  cool  moist 
climate,  as  that  of  Scotland  or  the  North  of  Ireland,  oats 
reach  perfection;  weighing  heavier  than  any  other,  and  of- 
ten weighing  55  lbs.  per  bushel.  In  Ameri  la,  the  best, 
oats  are  grown  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  part  of  Cana- 
da; and  it  is  advisable  to  procure  seed  from  this  locality  for 
the  purpose  of  growing  a  heavier  grain  for  a  few  years,  un- 
til the  crop  deteriorates  by  reason  of  the  less  favorable  in- 
fluences of  a  warm  dry  summer.  Oats  should  be  sown  as 
early  in  the  spring  as  possible  to  get  a  long  growing  season. 
We  have  had  excellent  oats  from  crops  sown  on  ground 
which  was  frozen  4  inches  below  the  surface;  but  having 
been  fall  plowed,  and  being  dry  above  the  frozen  subsoil, 
the  land  was  perfectly  well  fitted  by  the  use  of  the  Acme 
harrow.  This  early  sowing  is  of  great  importance  and  se- 
cures a  full  yield  of  heavy  grain. 

Barley  is  too  much  neglected  as  a  farm  crop;  perhaps 
because  its  value  as  a  feeding  grain  for  Worses  and  swine  is 
not  well  known,  and  its  culture  exacts  more  labor  in  the 
preparation  of  the  soil.  But  no  farmer  should  hesitate  to 
grow  a  crop  for  the  latter  reason;  when  it  is  one  of  the  ax- 
ioms of  agriculture  that  the  best  possible  culture  of  the  soil 


300  .        THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

is  not  only  profitable  for  the  larger  crops  grown,  but  that 
the  fertility  of  the  land  is  permanently  improved  by  it. 
Farmers  know  very  well  that  the  soil  may  be  injured  for 
many  years  to  come  by  injudicious  culture,  as  by  plowing 
clay  land  when  it  is  wet,  or  by  plowing  too  deeply  and 
burying  the  fertile  surface  soil  under  a  covering  of  raw  in- 
fertile subsoil ;  in  a  corresponding  manner,  but  conversely, 
the  thorough  pulverization  of  the  land — which  is  necessary 
for  the  successful  growth  of  barley — improves  it  for  years 
to  come.  It  is  this  fact  which  made  the  arduous  labor  of  a 
previously  popular  summer  fallow  profitable,  by  increasing 
the  yield  of  all  the  crops  which  followed  it  during  the  whole 
rotation.  It  also  furnishes  a  sufificient  inducement  for  far- 
mers to  summer  fallow  the  land  as  a  preparation  for  laying 
a  field  down  to  permanent  meadow. 

Barley  costs  no  more  to  cultivate  than  wheat;  but  it 
yields  a  greater  weight  per  acre  of  grain,  and  is  worth  more 
in  the  market  or  for  feeding.  Its  use  for  brewing  gives  it 
a  high  value  in  the  market,  but  we  would  advocate  its  cul- 
ture for  other  purposes  than  this,  viz .  for  its  value  for  feed- 
ing and  for  its  excellence  as  a  crop  to  seed  down  to  grass 
and  clover  with.  Barley  weighs  from  50  to  64  lbs.  per 
bushel  being  thus  only  a  little  lighter  than  wheat.  The  av- 
erage weight  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada  is 
54  lbs.  to  the  bushel. 

This  grain  requires  a  thoroughly  mellow  clean  soil,  and 
thrives  best  in  a  rich  medium  light  loam  inclined  to  clay; 
although  the  lightest  colored  and  thinnest  skinned  grain  is 
grown  on  sandy  loam.  2  bushels  of  seed  is  sown  per  acre 
early  in  the  spring.  It  follows  a  root  crop  that  has  been 
manured  and  fertilized,  admirably;  and  in  the  lengthened 
rotation  suggested  in  a  previous  chapter,  this  would  be  its 
most  appropriate  place;  clover  being  sown  with  it,  and  oats 
succeeding  the  corn  and  preceding  the  roots. 

Rye  is  not  an  important  grain  crop  and  yet  it  is  largely 
grown  by  farmers  who  cannot,  or  do  not,  make  the  culture 
of  wheat  profitable.  The  grain  is  more  nutritious  than 
wheat  and  makes  very  sweet  and  palatable  bread.       When 


THE  CULTURE  OF  BUCKWHEAT  AND  PEAS.    301 

ground  Avith  corn  in  equal  measures  it  makes  the  best  feed 
for  horses,  to  be  used  with  cut  straw  and  hay ;  and  if  mixed 
with  corn  for  fattening  hogL,  it  makes  a  more  healthful  food 
than  corn  alone,  adding  to  the  amount  of  albuminoids  of  the 
corn  and  reducing  proportionately  its  excess  of  carbonaceous 
matter.  Its  culture  is  exceedingly  easy,  being  the  least  ex- 
acting grain  in  this  respect  grown  upon  farms;  and  it  is  not 
so  much  injured  by  heaving  out  in  the  winter  as  wheat  is. 
Notwithstanding  its  average  poor  yield,  it  pays  well  for 
good  culture.  We  have  grown  45  bushels  per  acre  upon 
a  well  cultivated  corn  stubble,  which  was  prepared  without 
plowing  by  thorough  working  with  the  Acme  harrow.  The 
straw  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  kinds  for  feeding,  and  lye 
bran  is  more  nutritious  than  that  of  wheat,  and  superior  to 
it  for  feeding  to  dairy  coavs. 

Buckwheat  deserves  more  notice  and  consideration  thaa 
it  receives  at  the  hands  of  farmers  generally.  It  is  a  val- 
uable crop  when  it  receives  the  treatment  it  deserves.  The 
great  need  of  our  agriculture  is  more  feeding  crops  and  this 
grain  is  valuable  for  this  use.  When  ground  with  corn 
and  rye  it  is  excellent  food  for  horses,  cattle,  and  swine* 
and  the  mixed  grains  unground,  are  exceedingly  well  adapt- 
ed for  sheep.  This  grain  requires  cool  weather  to  mature 
the  seed  and  is  therefore  sown  late  in  the  summer;  in  July 
in  the  north,  and  August  in  the  south.  It  never  fails  to 
yield  a  paying  crop,  producing  from  20  to  75  bushels  per 
acre  according  to  the  richness  of  the  soil  and  the  favorable 
season.  The  latter  yield  was  once  reached  by  the  author^ 
upon  a  piece  of  newly  cleared  and  broken  woodland  and  in 
a  year  when  the  frosts  held  off  until  November.  The  crop 
comes  in  at  such  a  time  as  to  make  it  very  convenient. 
Any  piece  of  rough  ground,  well  broken  up,  suits  it;  but 
good  culture  before  sowing  the  seed  greatly  enhances  the 
product.  A  peck  of  seed  per  acre  is  sufficient.  The  seed 
should  be  well  covered  and  the  Acme  harrow  is  beyond  a 
doubt  the  best  implement  for  covering  it.       « 

Peas  are  one  of  the  leguminous  family  of  plants  to  which 
clover  belongs,  and  like  this  plant,  have  a  favorable  effect 


302         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

upon  the  soil.  This  effect  of  peas  however  is  inferior  to  that 
of  clover  because  they  leave  a  much  less  quantity  of  refuse 
matter — as  roots  and  stubble — in  the  soil;  but  the  dense 
shade  afforded  by  the  plants,  and  the  nitrogenous  character 
of  what  remains  upon  the  soil,  of  their  refuse;  leave  it  in 
a  favorable  condition  for  a  succeeding  crop.  Wheat  follow- 
ing peas,  usually  succeeds  much  better  than  it  does  after 
oats  or  corn,  or  even  after  a  fallow,  and  this  rotation  is  a 
favorite  one  where  peas  are  largely  grown,  as  in  Canada, 
where  they  make  a  substitute  for  corn. 

Peas  leave  the  soil  very  clean  and  mellow;  their  dense 
shade  preventing  the  growth  of  weeds,  and  keeping  the 
ground  moist.  The  seed  (1 J  bushels  per  acre)  is  sown  early 
in  the  spring,  and  as  it  is  difficult  to  cover  them  with  the 
common  spike  tooth  harrow,  it  is  better  to  cover  them  with 
the  plow  or  the  cultivator,  or  the  Acme  harrow,  which  is 
better  than  either,  and  equal  to  both  together.  The  seed 
should  be  covered  at  least  3  inches  deep.  In  some  locali- 
ties this  crop  is  grown  for  sale  green,  in  the  town  or  city 
markets,  with  much  profit.  In  this  case  the  seed  is  sown 
in  drills  12  or  20  inches  apart;  or  in  two  double  drills  8 
inches  apart,  with  spaces  of  two  feet  between  each  two  drills, 
to  give  room  for  working  the  ground. 

This  is  an  excellent  feeding  crop;  the  grain  and  the 
vines  being  both  exceedingly  nutritious,  the  grain  contain- 
ing 22  J  per  cent,  of  albuminoids,  and  522  per  cent,  of  car- 
bonaceous matter.  The  former  consists  largely  of  a  nitro- 
genous substance  called  legumin,  which  is  almost  precisely 
the  same  as  caseine  of  milk  in  composition  and  character, 
and  so  much  so,  that  a  very  good  cheese  is  made  from  peas 
by  the  Chinese.  The  straw  contains  62  per  cent,  of  albumi- 
noids, (timothy  hay  contains  9 5  per  cent.)  and  35 t  per  cent, 
of  carbonaceous  matter;  (timothy  hay  has  48 f  per  cent. 
of  it). 

Cow  Peas  are  extensively  grown  in  the  South  for  fod- 
der, and  for  a  green  manuring  crop;  and  are  of  much  value 
in  both  ways.  This  plant  however  is  not  a  pea,  but  a  va- 
riety of  bean;  it  is  however  included  under  the  subhead   of 


THE   CULTURE   OF   BEANS.  303 

peas,  as  it  is  better  known  as  a  pea.  There  are  several  va- 
rieties of  this  plant,  but  they  differ  in  no  material  point;  and 
the  mode  of  cultivating  and  using  all  of  them  is  the 
same.  A  common  mode  of  planting  this  crop  is  to  drop  the 
seed  among  the  corn  at  the  last  working;  but  it  is  much 
more  profitable  when  grown  by  itself,  and  treated  as  well  as 
any  other  crop.  Its  culture  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  com- 
mon bean,  which  it  resembles  in  its  appearance  and  man- 
ner of  growth;  the  pods  however  being  round  and  not  flat, 
as  those  of  the  bean  are. 

This  crop  might  be  made  exceedingly  useful  to  Southern 
farmers  as  a  fodder  or  a  grain  crop;  and  for  plowing  under 
as  manure  upon  the  lands  exhausted  by  the  culture  of  to- 
l^acco  and  cotton.  When  grown  for  the  latter  purpose 
it  should  be  sown  early  (a  bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre), 
and  turned  under  when  in  full  blossom;  a  second  crop 
being  immediately  sown  and  turned  under  in  time  for 
sowing  wheat. 

Beans  are  grown  in  some  localities  very  largely  and  as 
a  special  crop.  Several  kinds  are  grown;  the  marrowfat, 
the  pea  bean,  or  navy  bean  (this  is  the  most  valuable  in  the 
market);  the  red  kidney,  and  the  black  soup  bean.  The 
plant  matures  quickly,  and  although  exceedingly  rich  in 
nutritious  matter — a  little  more  so  than  peas — it  is  by  no 
means  exacting  in  regard  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  It  be- 
longs to  the  leguminous  family  of  plants,  all  of  which  pos- 
sess the  ability  to  get  a  large  quantity  of  nitrogen  from  some 
nnknown  source,  and  therefore  make  a  good  yield  upon 
land  upon  which  other  crops  would  thrive  but.  poorly.  The 
crop  is  grown  in  drills  18  inches  apart,  the  seed  used  being 
about  a  bushel  and  a  half  to  the  acre.  It  might  be  made 
to  take  a  valuable  place  in  a  rotation  of  8  or  more  crops,  as 
the  product  is  quite  salable  at  very  profitable  prices,  and  is 
also  a  valuable  food  for  horses,  sheep,  and  swine,  when 
ground  with  corn.  The  haulm  is  also  exceedingly 
nutritious  and  contains  lOi  per  cent,  of  albuminoids  in  its 
dry  state. 


THE  CULTUEE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

ROOT  CROPS. 

The  culture  of  root  crops  is  beneficial  to  the  farmer  in 
two  ways;  one  in  producing  a  large  quantity  of  exceedingly 
nutritious  and  succulent  food  for  use  in  the  winter,  helping- 
to  increase  the  quantity  of  manure  made  by  feeding  an  in- 
creased number  of  stock,  and  thus  enriching  the  soil;  as 
well  as  greatly  helping  to  keep  down  weeds  and  clean  the 
land  by  the  thorough  cultivation  required.  For  these  rea- 
sons, a  root  crop  should  always  be  brought  into  the  rotation 
to  be  followed  by  spring  grain,  either  oats  or  barley — the 
latter  being  preferable — with  clover  to  follow.  It  has  been 
objected  to  this  that  our  climate  is  not  well  adapted  to  roots; 
but  this  is  not  true  in  regard  to  the  best  of  all  the  roots,  viz: 
mangels,  and  sugar  beets,  for  which  our  warm  and  dry  cli- 
mate is  specially  well  adapted.  The  author  has  grown  man- 
gels at  the  rate  of  1200  bushels,  or  36  tons  per  acre;  and 
800  bushels  of  sugar  beets  of  the  large  growing  variety  known 
as  "Lane's  improved,"  (originated  by  the  Hon.  Henry  Lane 
of  Burlington,  Vermont).  This  quantity  of  mangels  is  suf- 
ficient to  feed  12  head  of  cattle,  w^ith  a  daily  ration  of  half 
a  bushel  per  head,  for  200  days,  or  more  than  6  months; 
that  is  from  November  to  May;  or  during  the  full  feeding- 
season.  The  cost  of  growing  these  crops  averaged  $60.  per 
acre,  including  600  lbs.  per  acre  of  Mapes  complete  man- 
ure, and  600  lbs.  of  salt;  costing  about  $15.  per  acre  in  all. 
This  shows  the  profit  of  this  crop,  for  the  half  bushel  of  roots 
was  the  principal  winter  feed  for  cows  which  were  making- 
10  lbs.  of  butter  each  per  week,  and  this  feed,  upon 
which  the  yield  of  butter  chiefly  depended,  cost  only  2} 
cents  per  day.  Thus  roots  are  readily  seen  to  be  a  large 
factor  in  the  profitable  culture  of  farm  crops,  and  have  a 
place  in  it  which  no  other  crop  can  fill  as  well  as  they. 


THE   CULTURE   OF   ROOTS  305 

The  soil  requires  the  most  thorough  preparation  for  roots^ 
Usually  they  follow  corn.  The  land  should  be  well  plowed' 
in  the  fall,  a  liberal  quantity  of  manure  being  plowed  un- 
der, and  left  until  the  spring,  when  it  is  worked  with  the 
Acme  harrow,  or  with  a  cultivator,  and  laid  off  in  shallow 
furrows  27  inches  apart  for  the  seed;  or  the  seed  is  sown 
with  a  hand  drill,  on  the  mellow  soil;  the  drill  covering  the 
seed  and  rolling  the  ground  over  it.  This  leaves  the  seed 
rows  plainly  marked,  so  that  they  can  be  worked  before  the 
young  plants  are  above  the  ground.  This  is  necessary  be- 
cause the  successful  growth  of  roots  depends  chiefly  upon 
the  entire  absence  of  weeds  and  the  frequent  culture  of  the 
land.  The  method  followed  by  the  writer  is  as  follows. 
After  the  seed  has  been  sown  as  above,  the  rows  are  worked' 
a  week  after,  by  running  a  hand  cultivator  along  them,  the 
scrapers  working  on  each  side  of  the  row,  loosening  the  soil 
and  destroying  the  young  weeds.  As  soon  as  the  young 
plants  show  above  the  ground,  the  hand  cultivator  is  spread 
to  10  inches  in  width,  and  is  run  across  the  rows;  cutting 
out  the  surplus  plants,  and  leaving  them  at  this  distance 
apart  in  bunches  in  the  main  rows.  The  hand  cultivator 
is  kept  going  over  the  rows  and  across  them,  until  the 
young  plants  are  strong;  when  the  bunches  are  thinned  out  to 
single  plants  and  any  vacant  spaces  may  be  resown  or  filled  by 
transplanting  the  surplus  plants.  After  this,  the  horse  hoe 
is  run  through  the  middles,  the  weeds  killed,  and  the  soil 
worked;  and  by  this  time  the  young  plants  will  need  no 
more  hoeing;  excepting  the  hand  hoe  run  crosswise  in  the 
10  inch  spaces.  The  horse  hoe  is  kept  going  through  the 
main  rows  until  the  spread  of  the  leaves  prevents  it,  when 
the  crop  is  left  to  take  care  of  itself  The  quantity  of  seed 
used  is  6  lbs.  per  acre.  This  is  much  more  than  is  required, 
but  a  large  proportion  of  the  seed  will  fail  to  grow,  and  it 
is  cheaper  to  have  full  rows,  and  cut  most  of  the  plants  out, 
than  to  have  a  short  crop  or  many  empty  spaces. 

The  roots  are  harvested  as  follows.  After  the  first  sharp 
frosts,  the  work  is  done  without  delay.  A  workman  passes 
along  the  row  and  with  a  sharp  hoe  cuts  the  tops  close  to 


806  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

the  roots,  leaving  them  in  the  row  to  his  left.  He  returns 
along  the  row  cutting  to  his  right,  and  leaving  the  tops  with 
the  others.  Thus  every  second  space  would  have  a  row  of 
tops  in  it.  Another  man  follows  the  first  and  with  a  blunt 
hook  or  a  digging  fork,  takes  up  the  roots  and  throws  two 
rows  into  the  space  beyond  the  second  row;  returning,  he 
takes  two  more  rows  and  throws  the  roots  with  the  others; 
thus  gathering  four  rows  into  one.  Thus  there  will  be  first 
a  row  of  tops  then  a  row  of  roots,  and  then  another  row  of 
tops.  Next  will  be  an  empty  space,  and  then  the  rows  of 
tops  and  roots  are  repeated  as  before.  In  loading,  the  horse 
and  cart  (a  cart  should  be  kept  on  every  farm  where  roots 
are  grown)  are  taken  down  the  empty  row,  the  horse  being 
thus  driven  through  the  field  without  treading  on  the  tops 
or  roots,  and  the  roots  are  first  taken  up  and  carted  to  the 
root  pit  or  the  cellar,  where  the  cart  is  tipped  and  the  roots  are 
dumped  all  at  once,  without  any  hand  work.  The  roots  are 
lifted  into  the  cart  with  the  digging  forks,  which  should 
have  curved  prongs  upon  which  the  roots  may  be  lifted  into 
the  cart  easily. 

Potatoes  are  a  most  important  crop  for  those  farmers 
who  keep  but  few  stock,  and  have  a  near  market  in  some 
large  city  or  town.  The  mode  of  cultivating  them  is  much 
the  same  as  that  practiced  for  mangels,  excepting  that  the 
rows  are  made  3  feet  apart,  and  the  cuttings  are  dropped  in 
the  rows  from  12  to  16  inches  apart.  A  clover  sod 
plowed  under  in  the  fall  and  well  worked  with  the  Acme 
harrow  in  the  spring,  when  10  or  20  loads  per  acre  of  fine 
manure  are  given,  and  mixed  with  the  soil  by  the  harrowing, 
makes  an  excellent  preparation.  By  the  use  of  machines 
for  planting,  a  working  soon  after  planting  with  a  smooth- 
ing harrow;  a  good  horse  hoe  to  cultivate  the  rows  well  and 
often — not  earthing  up  the  rows  too  much — and  a  digging 
machine;  this  crop  can  be  grown  for  30  cents  a  cushel  in- 
cluding all  expenses.  Artificial  fertilizers  are  preferable 
for  potatoes  in  place  of  manure;  as  the  ravages  of  the  inju- 
rious wire  worm  are  avoided  by  their  use. 

Various  opinions  are  held  by  good  farmers  in  regard  toj 


THE   CULTURE    OF    POTATOES   AND   TURNIPS.  307 

the  best  manner  of  planting  and  cutting  the  seed;  some  pre- 
ferring cuttings  with  but  one  eye,  and  others  with  two  or 
three.  We  prefer  the  common  method,  viz :  to  choose 
medium  sized  well  shaped  tubers,  and  cut  theni  by  sloping 
cuts,  beginning  at  the  top  end,  into  sets  each  having  two 
eyes;  and  dropping  two  sets  together,  about  24  inches  apart 
in  the  rows,  which  are  3  feet  apart.  This  gives  about  7000 
hills  to  the  acre.  Until  the  plants  are  well  up,  the  horse 
hoe  is  run  both  ways;  ^afterwards  it  is  run  in  the  wider  rows 
and  set  to  throw  the  soil  to  the  plants,  so  as  to  make  a  low 
broad  ridge.  This  crop  is  greatly  helped  by  frequent  stir- 
ring of  the  soil  on  the  surface  until  the  blossoming  is  full, 
and  the  tops  are  in  the  way  of  further  work.  400  bushels 
per  acre  is  as  little  as  a  good  farmer  should  be  satisfied 
with. 

Turnips  are  of  little  value  where  mangels  or  beets  are 
grown.  Of  the  varieties  in  cultivation  the  ruta-baga,  or 
Swede  turnip,  is  the  only  one  worth  growing  as  it  will  keep 
in  good  condition  through  the  winter.  But  mangels  are 
more  easily  grown  and  are  far  superior  for  feeding  to  all 
kinds  of  stock;  hence  the  culture  of  turnips  is  not  one  to  be 
recommended  in  this  country,  where  good  farming  prevails. 

English  farmers  grow  Swedes  largely  for  feeding  them  off 
from  the  land  by  sheep;  a  practice  quite  impracticable 
with  us. 

Sweet  Potatoes  are  a  most  valuable  crop  in  the  South, 
where  other  roots  are  not  suitable  to  the  climate.  300 
bushels  per  acre  may  be  grown  with  good  culture;  and  for 
feeding  to  all  kinds  of  stock,  these  tubers  are  unsurpassed. 

Carrots  and  Parsnips  are  excellent  roots  for  cows, 
horses,  and  sheep;  but  they  are  no  better  than  mangels,  and 
are  not  so  easily  grown,  hence  are  not  desirable  crops  for 
ordinary  farm  purposes. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTEK    XLVIII. 

TEXTILE  CROPS. 

Cotton  is  the  leading  crop  of  the  Southern  States,  and 
farmers  in  the  South  necessarily  pay  the  most  attention  to 
it.  It  is  however,  in  general,  so  poorly  cultivated,  that  it 
scarcely  pays  for  the  labor  bestowed  upon  it,  and  yields  no 
profit.  The  average  yield  is  no  more  than  150  lbs.  per  acre, 
which  brings  no  more  than  $9.  in  the  market;  while  500' 
to  600  lbs.  is  easily  grown  by  the  best  farmers,  who  follow 
a  scientific  culture;  manuring  the  soil  and  working  it  in 
accordance  with  the  true  principles  of  culture;  and  in  some 
cases  the  yield  has  reached  1500  or  2000  lbs.  to  the  acre. 
The  system  of  culture  through  the  cotton  region  is  gener- 
ally the  reverse  of  economical ;  and  nowhere  else  is  the  cul- 
ture of  farm  crops  pursued  upon  a  less  satisfactory  method. 
This  system  has  grown  out  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
the  Southern  farmers  for  many  years  past;  but  the  changes 
which  have  recently  occurred  have  reversed  these  conditions 
so  as  to  bring  the  necessities  of  the  case  so  nearly  to  those 
of  other  farmers,  that  the  old  system  is  rapidly  changing  for 
a  more  modern  one,  and  the  methods  of  culture  pursued 
elsewhere  are  being  adopted.  These  are  a  rotation  of  crops; 
the  culture  of  fodder  crops  and  the  rearing  and  feeding  of 
stock;  the  making  and  use  of  manure;  and  the  use  of  all 
the  most  improved  implements.  The  best  of  the  modern 
plows  are  fast  taking  the  place  of  the  very  imperfect  bull 
tongue;  the  Acme  harrow  is  coming  into  use  in  place  of  the 
common  wooden  or  iron  spike  harrow;  and  cultivators,, 
mowing  machines,  grain  drills,  and  reapers,  are  seen  as  in 
other  localities.  All  this  must  have  a  favorable  result  upon 
the  staple  crop  of  the  South;  reduce  the  cost  of  growing  and 
increase  the  product  of  it;  thus  greatly  adding  to  the  profit 
of  the  Southern  farmers,  and  improve  the  condition  of  the 
Southern  States  generally. 


THE   CULTURE   OF   COTTON.  309 

Cotton  is  an  exhaustive  crop.  The  fiber  is  almost  pure 
carbon  and  contains  very  little  that  is  drawn  from  the  soil. 
But  the  seed  is  exceedingly  rich  in  nitrogen,  phosphoric 
acid,  and  potash;  and  thus  draws  very  heavily  upon  the 
land.  1000  lbs.  of  seed  contains  35  to  40  lbs.  of  nitrogen; 
20  lbs.  of  potash;  and  30  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  As  there 
are  2  pounds  of  seed  produced  for  every  pound  of  ginned 
cotton,  a  crop  of  500  lbs.  of  clean  fiber  per  acre  therefore 
takes  from  the  soil  the  above  quantities  of  valuable  ele- 
ments, and  thus  calls  for  an  adequate  return  of  manure  or 
fertilizer. 

The  large  quantity  of  carbon  in  this  crop  may  be  all  de- 
rived from  the  atmosphere,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  indis- 
pensable for  the  full  exercise  of  this  function  of  the  plant, 
that  it  should  have  the  most  vigorous  development  possible; 
and  to  secure  this  the  soil  should  not  only  be  furnished  with 
every  other  element  in  abundance,  but  it  should  have  an 
adequate  supply  of  carbonaceous  matter  in  the  soil. 

Hence  the  same  kind  of  rotation  that  is  practiced  where 
the  common  sorts  of  farm  crops  are  grown,  will  be  found 
valuable  to  the  cotton  planter;  and  the  plowing  in  of  green 
crops,  and  the  use  of  stable  manure,  as  well  as  of  special 
artificial  fertilizers,  will  be  found  necessary  for  the  produc- 
tion of  a  full  yield  of  cotton. 

Cotton  is  a  tropical  plant  and  requires  much  heat  and  a 
hot  sun  for  its  successful  culture.  It  also  requires  a  rich 
soil.  The  methods  of  culture  practiced  by  the  best  farmers 
in  the  South  are  as  follows.  The  land  is  broken  in  the 
fall;  usually  it  is  a  fallow  or  newly  cleared  ground.  It  is 
then  "bedded"  in  the  spring,  and  manure  is  plowed  in  as 
the  beds  are  made.  The  beds  are  about  3  or  4  feet  wide 
and  are  raised  somewhat  in  the  center.  The  middle  of  the 
bed  is  then  split  and  a  furrow  is  made  in  which  some  com- 
post or  fertilizer  is  dropped,  ani  this  is  covered  lightly  with 
soil.  The  seed  is  then  sown  and  covered.  A  machine  for 
planting  seed  is  in  use  which  saves  labor  and  expense  in  this 
work.  The  great  pest  of  the  cotton  planter  is  the  prevalent 
crab  grass  which  has  been  permitted  to  seed  on  the  land 


olU         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

until  the  soil  is  so  thoroughly  filled  with  it,  that  it  is  very 
difl[icult  keep  it  down.  For  this  reason  the  most  thor- 
ough cultivation  is  required.  The  horse  hoe  which  may  be 
worked  close  to  the  rows  is  the  best  implement  for  this 
"work;  but  some  hand  hoeing  is  required,  until  the  land  is 
rid  of  the  prevailing  weeds  by  thorough  culture,  for  several 
years. 

The  continual  growth  of  corn  and  cotton  on  the  same 
land,  without  adequate  manuring,  has  exhausted  much  of  the 
soil  in  the  cotton  growing  districts;  and  the  custom  of  throw- 
ing out  the  land  to  "old  field"  until  it  grows  up  again  with 
timber,  and  in  the  meantime  becomes  cut  up  and  gullied  by 
the  rains,  has  given  an  unpleasing  appearance  to  the  Southern 
country.  This  will  no  doubt  be  remedied  in  course  of  time, 
when  a  more  profitable  system  is  introduced;  and  the  cul- 
ture of  farm  crops  is  made  a  study.  No  doubt  a  reasonable 
and  scientific  rotation  of  crops;  the  culture  of  wheat;  sweet 
potatoes  and  fodder  crops  for  the  feeding  of  stock,  with  the 
surplus  cotton  seed;  and  the  production  of  the  requisite 
manure,  clover,  and  such  of  the  grasses  as  are  adapted  for 
the  climate;  will  in  time  change  the  customs  of  the  farmers 
and  the  appearance  of  the  country  for  the  better,  and  add 
greatly  to  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  the  people. 

Flax  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  textile  crops, 
and  succeeds  best  in  a  cool  climate  and  in  rich  moist  soil. 
It  is  largely  grown  in  the  west  for  the  seed  which  is  used 
for  the  production  of  linseed  oil,  but  the  fiber  is  really  the 
most  valuable  part  of  the  plant.  This  use  of  it  however  is 
greatly  curtailed  in  this  country  for  some  reasons,  which 
are  difficult  to  understand,  and  our  supplies  of  linens  are 
brought  from  foreign  countries.  Nevertheless,  as  there  is  a 
profitable  demand  for  the  seed,  and  it  is  most  valuable  for 
feeding  to  sheep  and  cattle  for  fattening,  there  is  a  place 
for  this  crop  upon  every  well  ordered  farm  in  the  country. 

A  clay  loam,  or  rather  light  rich  sod,  is  the  best  for  this 
crop.  A  grass  or  clover  sod  suits  it  admirably.  The  land 
is  plowed  in  the  spring  and  well  pulverized,  and  half  a 
bushel  of  seed  per  acre  is  sown.    Early  sowing  is  advisable. 


THE   CULTURE   OF   FLAX   AND   HEMP.  311 

and  as  the  thinner  seeding  gives  more  branchy  stems  and 
yields  more  seed,  the  above  quantity  should  not  be  exceeded, 
except  when  the  fiber  is  the  object,  when  double  this  quan- 
tity is  used. 

Hemp  is  grown  largely  in  Kentucky  and  Missouri  upon 
the  rich  lands,  which  under  a  favorable  climate  yield  profit- 
able crops.  Its  culture  is  similar  to  that  of  flax ;  excepting 
that  as  the  seeds  are  borne  upon  pistillate  or  female  plants, 
which  are  fertilized  by  other  plants  which  bear  the  stami- 
nate  flowers,  and  produce  the  pollen,  it  is  necessary  to  thin 
out  these  fruitless  plants  during  the  cultivation  of  the  crop 
60  as  to  give  more  room  to  the  seeding  plants;  also  to  trans- 
plant as  many  as  may  be  required  if  they  are  deficient  in 
certain  parts  of  the  field. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 


CHAPTER     XLIX. 

THE  CULTURE  OF  TOBACCO. 

The  growth  of  tobacco  has  brought  not  only  a  great 
amount  of  wealth  into  the  country,  but  by  reason  of  exhaus- 
tive culture,  it  has  brought  barrenness  and  temporary  ruin 
upon  many  a  fair  field,  which  might  have  otherwise  been 
kept  in  a  productive  condition.  It  is  an  exhaustive  crop 
as  is  seen  by  the  following  analysis  of  its  ash. 
Composition  of  Tobacco. 

Whole  plant,  Ash, 
(in  1000  parts) .                (in  100  parts). 

Water 180 

Ash 197.5 

Potash..... 54.1  27.4 

Soda 7.3  3.7 

Magnesia 20.7  10.6 

Lime 73.1  37.0 

Phosphoric  acid 7.1  3.6 

Sulphuric  acid 7.7  3.9 

Silica 19.0  9.6 

Chlorine 8.8  4.5 

Tobacco  is  the  most  exhaustive  crop  grown,  as  far  as  re- 
gards the  mineral  elements  drawn  from  the  soil.  A  crop 
of  1000  lbs.  takes  up  as  much  mineral  matter  as  3000  lbs. 
of  hay;  as  much  lime  as  10,000  lbs.;  as  much  magnesia  as 
3000  lbs.  and  as  much  phosphoric  acid  as  2000  lbs.  Re- 
peated crops  of  it  therefore  soon  bring  the  soil  to  a  condi- 
tion of  exhaustion  of  its  available  fertility,  and  render  it 
barren.  Every  element  of  plant  growth  is  taken  up  by 
tobacco  and  the  nitrogen  is  as  largely  drawn  upon  as  the  rest. 
Its  culture  therefore  is  one  to  be  taken  up  with  caution,  and 
every  care  to  supply  the  soil  with  adequate  food ;  and  al- 
though the  profit  realized  from  it  is  very  large,  this  temp- 
tation should  not  lead  the  farmer  to  sacrifice  the  soil  for  the 
sake  of  it.  The  land  is  not  really  a  personal  inheritance. 
It  is  most  truly  given  to  mankind  to  use  it  for  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  race,  and  much  like  the  owners  life,  which  he 


THE   CULTURE   OF   TOBACCO.  313 

may  think  to  be  his  own  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  it,  but 
which  cannot  be  wasted  and  thrown  away  or  destroyed 
without  a  breach  of  divine  or  human  laws;  so  the  land  can- 
not be  wasted  or  destroyed  by  its  owner  without  the  inflic- 
tion of  an  injury  upon  the  public,  and  the  breach  of  a  strict 
moral  obligation  to  use  it  for  the  good  of  mankind.  This 
thought  should  never  be  lost  sight  of  by  a  farmer,  and 
should  be  an  impulse  to  his  efforts  to  use  his  land  so  as  to 
make  it  most  productive  to  his  own  comfort  and  happiness, 
and  to  the  welfare  of  his  race. 

Although  tobacco  is  exceedingly  exhaustive  it  may  be 
grown  in  a  rotation  without  loss  or  damage.  It  will  not 
take  more  from  the  soil  than  can  be  easily  returned  to  it  in 
the  form  of  a  green  crop  plowed  in;  a  liberal  dressing  of 
manure;  and  artificial  fertilizers,  consisting  of  superphos- 
phate of  lime;  potash  salts;  (the  muriate  however  is  not 
fitted  for  this  crop  and  the  sulphate  only  is  to  be  used)  and 
.sulphate  of  magnesia;  with  blood  and  flesh  fertilizer  which 
is  rich  in  nitrogen.  A  clover  sod  plowed  under  in  the  fall 
so  that  it  is  well  decomposed  by  the  spring,  will  furnish  the 
nitrogen  needed  for  this  crop,  and  'the  land  will  be  in  an 
excellent  condition  for  it  in  other  ways.  Where  this  crop 
is  thus  brought  into  a  rotation  and  alternated  with  other 
farm  crops,  there  is  no  reason  why  I'ts  culture,  may  not  be 
made  as  useful  and  profitable  as  that  of  wheat,  clover,  or 
potatoes.  The  clean  culture  that  is  required  is  certainly 
very  serviceable  in  preparing  the  land  for  other  crops. 

Tobacco  is  grown  with  profit  only  under  systematic  and 
;skillful  culture.  The  land  is  prepared  as  above  described, 
and  the  plants  are  grown  in  beds  and  transplanted  to  the 
field  when  the  weather  is  settled  and  warm.  The  plant 
beds  are  made  much  in  the  same  way  as  for  cabbages;  a 
piece  of  rich  soil  being  prepared,  and  freed  from  weeds  by 
having  a  brush  pile  burned  over  it.  A  tablespoonful  of 
seed  is  sown  upon  a  square  rod,  and  furnishes  enough  plants 
for  an  acre  of  land.  The  seed  is  sown  early  so  as  to  have 
the  plants  ready  as  soon  as  the  time  arrives  for  transplant' 
ing,  and  these  are  moved  from  the  beds  when  the  leaves  are 


314  THE   CULTURE   OF   FARM   CROPS. 

as  large  as  a  silver  dollar.  The  plants  are  rather  tender; 
they  require  fine  mellow  soil,  and  to  be  set  out  when  the 
ground  is  moist  or  just  before  a  rain.  The  French  planters 
who  take  special  care  of  this  crop,  cover  each  plant  with 
a  conical  cup  made  of  paper  twisted  into  the  desired  shape, 
and  which  protects  the  young  plants  from  the  sun  until  they 
have  become  well  rooted.  The  plants  are  protected  from 
frost  and  cold  rains  in  the  seed  beds  by  a  covering  of  brown 
sheeting  spread  over  a  frame  surrounding  the  bed. 

As  soon  as  the  plants  are  established  in  the  field,  each 
one  receives  a  small  quantity  of  artificial  fertilizer,  a  mix- 
ture of  hen  manure,  wood  ashes,  and  plaster,  is  excellent 
for  this  purpose;  the  large  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  and 
lime  in  the  ash  calls  for  a  corresponding  supply  of  sulphate 
of  lime  (plaster),  and  this  is  of  great  use  to  push  the  young 
plants  forward.  The  soil  is  kept  fine  and  mellow  by  fre- 
quent cultivation  during  the  growth  of  the  crop.  The 
great  enemy  of  the  tobacco  plant  is  the  larvse  of  a  sphynx 
moth,  the  same  which  depredates  upon  tomatoes,  a  very 
large  light  green  worm  with  oblique  yellowish  stripes 
upon  its  sides.  This  worm  will  eat  large  holes  in  the  leaves 
in  a  night,  and  if  left  unmolested  would  soon  strip  the  stalks 
bare  and  destroy  the  crop.  They  are  sought  out  early  in 
the  morning  and  at  evening,  and  destroyed.  Turkeys  are 
eager  in  the  search  for  these  worms,  and  a  flock  of  them 
kept  in  a  field  and  fed  there,  will  do  good  service  in  ridding 
the  plants  of  the  pest. 

Another  indispensable  and  constant  labor  is  the  removal 
of  the  numerous  suckers  which  grow  from  the  axils  of  the 
leaves  as  soon  as  they  become  large.  These  suckers  are  to- 
be  pinched  off"  as  soon  as  they  appear,  or  they  will  seriously 
retard  the  growth  of  the  leaves.  The  object  of  the  grower 
is  to  get  large  well  shaped  perfect  leaves;  and  to  secure 
this  end,  the  plants  are  pushed  into  vigorous  growth  and 
preserved  from  whatever  may  be  an  injury  to  them.  A 
profitable  crop  is  not  made  without  great  watchfulness  and 
care,  and  the  skill  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time. 
The  last  process  in  the  cultivation  is  the  topping  of  the 


EIPENING   AND   CURING   OF   TOBACCO.  315 

plants.  This  Is  done  as  soon  as  the  flower  buds  appear. 
These  are  pinched  off  with  the  small  leaves  at  the  top  of  the 
stalk.  From  8  to  14  leaves  are  left  to  grow.  The  small 
varieties,  especially  the  bright  yellow  kinds,  or  the  finer 
textured  wrappers,  and  the  Oronoko  and  Persian  tobacco 
used  for  cutting  for  cigarettes,  are  topped  at  8  or  10  leaves. 
The  larger  kinds  have  10  to  14  leaves  left  upon  the  stalks. 
After  this  work  has  been  done  the  constant  care  of  the 
planter  is  exercised  in  keeping  the  suckers  pinched,  and  re- 
moving any  later  flower  buds  which  may  appear.  All  this 
care  tends  to  throw  the  whole  strength  of  the  plant  into  the 
leaves,  and  not  only  to  increase  the  size,  but  to  improve 
their  texture  and  substance.  At  this  stage  of  the  plant,  the 
watchfulness  of  the  planter  is  redoubled,  to  save  the  leaves 
from  the  worms,  and  to  remove  any  of  them  which  may  be- 
come rusted,  and  the  lowest  ones  which  may  be  in  the  way 
of  cutting. 

When  the  leaves  are  fully  grown,  the  ripening  stage  is 
watched  with  care  lest  the  leaves  become  too  ripe.  As  soon 
as  they  begin  to  turn  yellow,  the  time  to  cut  the  plants  has 
arrived.  This  is  done  by  severing  the  stalks  near  the 
ground  and  below  the  lowest  leaves  with  a  sharp  knife. 
The  stalk  is  first  pierced  with  the  point  of  the  blade  and 
slit  for  the  length  of  several  inches  to  facilitate  the  curing. 
The  plants  are  then  strung  upon  a  stout  lath  until  it  is  full, 
and  the  lath  and  the  plants  are  placed  in  a  rack  to  be  car- 
ried to  the  curing  house.  This  is  a  substantial  building, 
protected  from  the  weather,  but  provided  with  numerous 
ventilators  for  admitting  or  excluding  air,  when  the 
curing  is  done  w^ithout  fire  heat.  When  fire  heat  is 
made  use  of,  the  house  is  provided  with  a  few  ventilators 
for  regulating  the  temperature,  and  with  a  fire  place,  and 
flues  traversing  the  lower  part  of  the  building,  for  raising 
the  temperature  to  a  sufiicient  degree.  The  tobacco  here 
undergoes  a  process  of  drying;  after  which  the  curing  is 
completed  by  bulking  the  leaves,  stripped  from  the  stalk 
and  bound  by  their  pedicels  or  stems  into  bundles  or  bands 
of  a  dozen  or  thereabouts.      These  bundles  are  placed  in 


316         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

compact,  long  piles,  and  weighted.  They  then  undergo  a 
fermentation  in  which  some  heat  is  developed,  and  this 
process  brings  out  the  flavor  and  peculiarities  of  the  leaf. 
After  this  has  been  completed,  the  leaves  are  packed  in 
boxes  or  hogsheads  for  sale.  The  price  of  the  finished  leaf 
varies  very  much,  ranging  from  3  or  4  cents  per  pound,  up 
to  75  cents  or  one  dollar,  or  even  higher  for  the  yellow  col- 
ored and  finest  varieties.  The  yield  varies  from  500  to 
1500  lbs.  of  cured  leaf  per  acre. 


THE   CULTURE   OF   HOPS. 


CHAPTER    L. 

SPECIAL  CROPS. 

Hops  are  grown  with  great  profit  as  a  farm  crop,  when 
the  grower  understands  the  manner  of  culture,  and  has  suflS- 
cient  perseverance,  persistence,  and  patience,  to  withstand 
the  numerous  accidents  and  drawbacks  which  are  met  with 
in  this  business.  These  are  due  to  the  adversity  of  the  sea- 
son; the  diseases  which  affect  the  plant;  the  insects  which 
infest  it;  and  the  extraordinary  fluctuations  of  the  market 
caused  by  the  condition  of  the  growing  crop,  or  the  gam- 
bling propensities  of  the  dealers  who  handle  it  after  it  leaves 
the  farmers  hands;  or  of  the  speculators  who  never  see  it 
but  yet  venture  thousands  of  dollars  in  attempts  to  raise  or 
lower  the  market  value  of  it. 

Hops  are  grown  of  the  best  quality  on  a  rich  clay  loam 
abounding  in  limestone,  and  well  supplied  with  decomposed 
vegetable  matter.  They  are  found  growing  naturally  in 
swamps  or  wet  soil  that  is  rich  in  organic  matter;  but  un- 
der cultivation  will  thrive  in  any  soil  that  is  made  rich 
and  is  well  cultivated.  They  are  chiefly  grown  in  central 
New  York;  in  southern  Wisconsin;  Oregon;  and  Califor- 
nia; and  in  these  localities  are  found  occasionally  in  fields 
of  10,  20,  and  even  up  to  100  acres  in.  California.  A  5 
acre  hop  field  is  however  as  much  as  the  average,  for  this 
crop  costs  a  large  amount  in  the  preparation  and  furnish- 
ing of  the  land,  and  for  the  drying  kilns,  and  a  good  deal 
of  labor  in  its  cultivation. 

The  method  of  culture  is  as  follows.  The  land  chosen 
is  thoroughly  well  prepared  and  is  laid  out  with  furrows  7 
feet  apart  each  way.  At  the  intersections,  a  hill  is  made^ 
and  enriched  with  well  decayed  manure.  At  each  hill^ 
two  or  three  sets,  or  root  cuttings,  are  planted,  about  a  foot 
apart;  and  in  the  center  of  the  hill  room  is  left  for  planting^ 
a  long  stout  pole  14  or  16  feet  long  for  the  vines  to  climb. 


•318  THE   CULTURE    OF    FARM    CROPS. 

upon.  The  first  year  there  is  no  crop;  but  the  land  is 
planted  with  potatoes ;  being  of  course  iii-st  plowed  and  cul- 
tivated. The  Acme  harrow  is  exceedingly  well  adapted  for 
the  culture  of  hop  fields  as  it  entirely  fills  the  space  between 
the  hills  and  leaves  the  whole  ground  worked  in  the  best 
manner,  without  tearing  out  the  manure  applied  to  the  hills; 
and  when  the  field  is  crossed  the  whole  of  it  is  cultivated 
with  far  less  labor  and  in  a  much  better  manner  than  with 
the  ordinary  horse  hoe  or  harrow.  The  second  year  there 
is  half  a  crop,  and  a  full  crop  is  made  the  third  year.  As 
the  hop  is  a  dioecious  plant,  that  is  one  in  which  the  stami- 
nate  and  pistillate  flowers  are  borne  upon  different  plants, 
grown  from  different  roots,  it  is  necessary  that  a  certain 
number  of  the  staminate  plants  should  be  grown  to  provide 
pollen  for  fertilizing  the  pistillate  plants,  which  bear  the 
fruit  or  perfect  hops.  The  bitter  substance  known  as  "lu- 
pulin,"  which  is  the  valuable  part  of  the  hops,  is  deposited 
among  the  scales  and  around  the  seeds  of  the  pistillate 
flowers  which  must  be  fertilized  by  the  pollen  of  the  stami- 
nate plants.  The  staminate  plants  are  usually  set  out  in 
every  seventh  hill  each  way,  thus  making  one  hill  to  every 
48  of  the  pistillate  kind. 

Hops  are  an  exacting  crop  on  the  soil.  The  following 
table  giving  the  analysis  of  the  fruit,  and  the  entire  plant, 
shows  this. 

Composition  of  Hops  and  their  Ash. 

„   , .  Ash  of 

T    -.ruvMv.        ^1     *®                 Hops-           Entire  plant.          Hops. 
In  1000  lbs.      Plant,  f^^.^  , ^        '■      . 

(^^')  (per  cent.) 

Water 250  120 

Ash 74  59.8 

Potash 19.4  22.3  26.2  37.3 

Soda 2.8  1.3-  3.8  2.2 

Magnesia 4.3  2.1  5.8  5.5 

Lime 11.8  10.1  16.0  16.9 

Phosphoric  acid     9.0  9.0  12.1  15.1 

Sulphuric  acid.      3.8  1.6  5.4  2.6 

Silica 15.9  9.2  21.5  15.4 

Sulphur 2.0  4.8  4.6  3.4 

The  above  figures  aflbrd  a  key  to  the  problem  of  the 
methods  of  fertilization  of  this  crop,  and  explains  why  cer- 
tain substances  are  effective  in  producing  a  vigorous  growth. 


MANURES   FOR   HOPS.  319 

Wool  waste  for  instance,  gives  an  extraordinary  result  up- 
on this  crop,  and  the  effect  is  explained  by  the  fact  that 
wool  is  rich  in  sulphur,  and  also  in  nitrogen,  which  is  also 
largely  contained  in  this  crop. 

Plaster  (sulphate  of  lime)  is  also  useful,  as  it  supplies  both 
sulphuric  acid  and  lime.  But  the  main  reliance  for  the 
feeding  of  the  crop  is  stable  manure.  This  is  one  of  the  ob- 
jectionable features  of  the  business  of  growing  special  crops 
like  this,  for  unless  the  farmer  makes  some  special  and  ade- 
<juate  provision  for  the  manure,  by  the  way  of  feeding  some 
purchased  concentrated  food  with  such  coarse  fodder  as 
he  can  grow,  to  his  stock,  the  chances  are  great  that  the 
rest  of  the  farm  may  be  deprived  of  its  share  of  the  man- 
ure, and  the  special  crop  get  a  larger  portion  than  can  be 
afforded.  The  careful  farmer,  who  has  the  tact  and  skill 
to  grow  these  special  crops  successfully,  and  is  tempted 
thereto  by  the  large  amount  of  cash  which  they  bring  in, 
will  always  have  a  certain  amount  of  stock  feeding  in  this 
way  above  indicated,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  extra 
quantity  of  manure  which  can  be  extended  by  the  addition 
of  such  other  materials  as  can  be  composted  with  it.  A  well 
made  compost,  in  which  stable  manure;  swamp  muck  (this 
is  especially  valuable  for  this  crop);  wool  waste;  butchers 
offal;  tanners  waste;  such  as  hair  and  fleshings,  with  the 
lime  used  in  removing  the  hair,  and  if  possible  the  ashes 
from  the  burning  of  the  tan  bark;  the  sweepings  of  town 
and  village  streets;  night  soil;  and  other  similar  matters, 
are  mixed,  and  well  decomposed;  furnishes  an  excellent 
basis  for  the  manuring  of  a  hop  field.  The  extra  fertilizers 
are  gypsum  and  plaster;  superphosphate  of  lime;  dried  flesh 
and  blood;  the  potash  salts;  and  spent  hops  from  breweries. 

This  crop  is  often  seriously  damaged  by  mildew  which 
affects  the  leaves,  and  stops  the  growth  of  the  plants;  and 
by  the  hop  louse  or  aphis  which  entirely  covers  the  plant 
on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  and  ruins  the  crop.  The 
white  grub,  which  eats  the  roots;  and  rust  which  sometimes 
attacks  the  leaves,  also  damage  the  crop,  and  seriously  re- 
duce the  profit  of  it.     Hail,  at  times,  batters  the  vines  and 


320  THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

beats  off  the  fruit;  and  dry  weather  at  the  setting  of  the- 
cones,  decreases  the  produce.  On  the  other  hand,  when  all 
the  favoring  circumstances  tend  to  make  a  large  yield  of 
fine  hops,  ihe  prices  are  so  low  as  to  render  the  crop  almost 
wholly  unprofitable.  Nevertheless,  on  an  average  of  sea- 
sons, the  hop  grower  who  well  understands  his  business, 
gives  close  attention  and  care  to  it,  and  at  the  same  time 
has  "other  eggs  in  his  basket"  and  does  not  depend  upon 
this  crop  alone,  always  has  a  satisfactory  reward  for  his 
labor;  and  some  years,  is  repaid  in  a  most  handsome  and 
profuse  manner  for  his  care  and  skill. 

The  hops  are  picked  when  the  yellow,  bitter  powder — 
the  lupulin,  or  extractive  principle  of  the  flower — appears 
Avithin  the  scales,  and  can  be  beaten  out  from  them  when 
the  flower  is  dry.  The  picking  is  hurried  forward  as  fast 
as  possible,  and  as  the  hops  are  picked  they  are  dried  in 
kilns,  upon  wire  gauze  doors  under  which  a  large  stove  is 
kept  heated.  When  dry,  the  hops  are  packed  in  bags  of 
about  180  to  200  lbs.  for  sale.  As  they  lose  their  fragrance 
and  strength  by  age,  they  rapidly  depreciate  by  keeping;. 
and  a  year  old  hops  are  of  but  little  value. 

The  spent  hops  from  the  brewery  are  an  excellent  man- 
ure, when  decomposed  in  a  compost,  and  should  never  be 
neglected  by  farmers  or  hop  growers  who  can  j^rocure  them 
conveniently. 

Cabbages  are  an  excellent  feeding  crop,  especially  for 
sheep,  and  are  largely  grown  also  for  sale  in  the  markets  of 
towns  and  villages.  This  crop  is  subject  to  all  the  require- 
ments and  necessities  of  a  root  crop,  and  can  be  grown  in  a 
rotation  in  the  place  of  turnips,  or  ruta  bagas,  or  other  roots. 
As  it  needs  good  manuring  and  clean  culture,  and  also  yields 
a  very  large  quantity  of  useful  fodder  or  salable  produce — 
24  tons  per  acre  is  a  fair  yield — it  is  profitably  grown  be- 
tween two  grain  crops.  An  advantage  in  this  crop  is  that 
early  potatoes  may  be  taken  before  it,  and  thus  two  crops. 
grown  in  one  season  and  both  are  productive  and  profitable. 

The  land  is  planted  with  the  first  crop  as  early  as  possi- 
ble, and  is  cultivated  often  so  as  to  hurry  it  through  early 


THE  CULTURE  OF  CABBAGES.  321 

in  July,  when  the  cabbage  plants  are  ready  in  the  bed  for 
the  second  crop.  The  cabbage  seed  is  sown  in  a  bed  of  rich 
fine  soil  in  May,  and  the  plants  are  transplanted  when  large 
enough,  into  another  bed,  and  set  3  inches  apart,  so  as  to 
get  large  fibrous  roots  and  a  stocky  growth.  As  soon  as 
the  potatoes  are  taken  up  they  are  sent  to  market  at  once 
and  usually  bring  $1.  or  more  per  bushel;  the  land  is  then- 
worked  over;  the  Acme  harrow  being  the  best  implement 
for  this  purpose,  fitting  an  acre  an  hour  in  the  most  perfect 
manner  without  any  plowing,  leveling  the  ridges,  and  leav- 
ing an  even  mellow  surface  ready  for  the  new  crop.  The 
potato  vines  are  gathered  with  a  horse  rake  and  carried 
from  the  field  to  the  compost  heap — which  is  a  most  neces- 
sary adjunct  to  every  well  cultivated  farm.  A  marker,, 
haviug  runners  3  feet  apart,  is  drawn  across  the  harrow 
marks,  making  rows  in  which  the  plants  are  set  out  2  feet 
apart  in  the  rows.  By  taking  care  to  draw  the  Acme  har- 
row evenly  across  the  field,  lapping  one-half  of  the  ground 
at  each  turn,  the  distance  between  the  plants  in  the  row 
can  be  kept  even,  after  the  first  row  is  set  out,  by  observing 
the  course  of  the  cross  marks. 

No  manure  is  required  for  the  cabbage  crop,  as  a  liberal 
quantity  is  plowed  in  for  the  potatoes;  but  a  dressing  of  ar- 
tificial fertilizer,  superphosphate  of  lime,  guano,  or  fine  bone 
dust,  is  given;  being  sown  upon  the  land  after  the  working 
with  the  harrow.  500  or  600  pounds  per  acre  is  generally 
used.  Frequent  working  with  the  horse  hoe  is  required; 
and  if  the  land  is  as  clean  of  weeds  as  it  should  be,  no  hand 
hoeing  in  the  rows  is  needed.  With  good  cultivation,  and 
on  good  ground,  three-fourths  of  the  cabbages  will  make 
good,  solid,  salable  heads;  and  at  times,  with  the  best  grown 
and  fresh  seed,  90  per  cent,  of  the  crop  will  be  solid  heads, 
and  Avill  sell  for  $5.  per  hundred  wholesale.  This  will 
amount  to  over  $300.  per  acre;  a  very  satisfactory  result 
for  a  second  crop,  and  paying  well  for  the  extra  care  in  the 
culture  that  is  required.  The  author  has  taken  150  bushels 
of  Early  Rose  potatoes  from  half  an  acre  early  in  July; 
realizing  $150.  for  the  crop;  and  in  November  has  sold 


322         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

3200  cabbages  from  the  same  half  acre,  at  $5.50  per  hun- 
dred; making  for  the  season's  income  from  this  half  acre 
$326.;  which  was  nearly  as  much  as  the  income  from  10 
acres  of  wheat  the  same  year. 

The  worst  enemies  to  this  crop  are  club  foot  and  the 
green  worm.  The  former  is  the  larva  of  a  black  fly  w^hich 
is  akin  to  the  onion  fly.  The  worm  is  a  small  white  grub 
which  eats  into  the  root  and  deforms  it,  causing  the  cab- 
bage to  wilt  and  become  worthless.  The  remedy  is  lime, 
spread  on  the  land  before  planting,  at  the  rate  of  40  bushels 
per  acre.  This  trouble  is  never  experienced  when  cabbages 
are  grown  upon  ground  where  turnips  or  cabbages  have  not 
been  grown  for  three  years.  The  green  worm  which  is  the 
larva  of  the  white  cabbage  butterfly — and  other  species  be- 
sides this — are  all  easily  kept  in  subjection  by  the  use  of 
Persian  insect  powder,  or  a  strong  solution  of  saltpeter 
scattered  over  the  plants. 

Onions. — Under  special  and  favorable  circumstances  the 
culture  of  onions  may  be  made  extremely  profitable.  At 
times  the  crop  brings  in  as  much  as  $500.  per  acre;  but  at 
the  low  prices  sometimes  prevailing  the  income  from  a  full 
product  is  rarely  less  than  $300.  per  acre. 

The  soil  best  adapted  for  this  crop  is  a  reclaimed  and 
drained  swamp.  The  black  vegetable  soil  seems  to  provide 
precisely  the  right  sort  of  food  and  conditions  for  it,  and  to 
give  the  bulbs  the  most  desirable  flavor  and  mildness.  There 
are  a  few  localities,  where  this  kind  of  soil  prevails,  as  in 
the  town  of  Goshen,  in  Orange  County,  New  York;  Berea, 
in  Ohio;  Wethersfield,  in  Connecticut;  Kalamazoo,  in  Mich- 
igan; which  have  become  noted  for  the  profitable  culture  of 
this  crop;  and  the  methods  there  followed  may  be  imitated 
elsewhere  with  advantage. 

The  low  black  soil  is  first  drained  by  means  of  open 
ditches  to  dry  the  surface  sufificiently  to  enable  it  to  be  well 
cultivated,  and  no  more;  for  moisture  is  indispensable  to 
the  finest  quality  of  this  vegetable.  It  is  then  thoroughly 
grubbed  and  freed  from  all  obstacles  to  the  most  perfect 
tillage,  and  plowed  and  manured  or  fertilized.      For  this 


THE   CULTURE   OF   ONIONS.  6Z6 

crop,  the  soil  is  the  vehicle  for  the  conveyance  of  food  to  the 
crop,  quite  as  much  as  for  the  furnishing  of  it  from  its  own 
resources.  Hence  perfect  tillage  is  indispensable  for  the 
proper  digestion  of  the  manure  in  the  soil,  to  fit  x  it  for  the 
nutrition  of  the  plants.  This  point  is  especially  noteworthy; 
for  as  has  been  explained  heretofore,  plant  food  is  digested 
in  the  soil  by  the  chemical  action  of  the  atmosphere  aided 
by  the  finely  divided  and  porous  condition  of  the  land;  and 
therefore  w^here  high  manuring  is  necessary  for  the  produc- 
tion of  any  crop,  it  is  equally  necessary  that  the  soil  should 
be  most  thoroughly  pulverized.  And  while  this  is  desira- 
ble for  any  crop,  it  is  indispensable  for  success  with  onions. 

For  this  reason  onions  will  grow  upon  any  kind  of  soil  if 
it  is  made  quite  fine,  and  is  filled  with  manure.  "As  rich  as 
an  onion  bed"  has  thus  become  a  popular  byword,  but  it  is  a 
true  onC)  and  is  justified  by  the  facts.  The  manure  should 
be  fine  so  that  it  may  be  intimately  mixed  with  the  soil  by 
harrowing;  and  no  other  implement  so  perfectly  does  this 
work  as  the  Acme  pulverizing  harrow;  for  its  peculiar  ac- 
tion in  cutting  up  the  soil,  smoothing  it,  and  turning  it  over, 
mixes  the  fine  manure  with  it  so  that  these  shallow  rooted 
plants  can  get  a  full  supply  of  it.  This  crop  needs  to  have 
its  food  near  the  surface. 

The  best  fertilizers  for  onions  are  superphosphate  of  lime, 
of  which  600  lbs.  per  acre  is  generally  used;  wood  ashes,  20 
to  40  bushels  per  acre;  salt,  5  or  6  bushels;  and  night  soil 
composted  with  earth  which  is  the  best  of  manures,  because 
it  is  fine,  rich  in  all  the  required  elements  of  plant  food,  and 
rapidly  decomposes  in  the  soil.  The  land  thus  well  pre- 
pared and  brought  to  a  smooth  level  surface,  is  sown  with 
12  to  20  lbs.  of  seed  per  acre.  The  most  popular  varieties 
are  the  yellow  Dan  vers;  white  globe;  and  red  Wethersfield; 
in  the  order  named.  The  last  mentioned  is  the  best  keeper; 
the  second  is  the  mildest  flavored;  and  the  first  is  the  most 
prolific  and  is  but  slightly  inferior  to  the  others  in  their  best 
points.  The  seed  is  sown  by  a  hand  drill  which  drops  and 
covers  it  and  rolls  the  land  over  it.  This  is  a  convenient 
method,  because  it  leaves  the  rows  well  marked  for  the  early 


324         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

use  of  the  cultivator  which  follows  the  sowing  very  soon, 
and  before  the  young  plants  are  visible.  The  rows  are 
made  12  inches  apart. 

In  a  week  the  seed  sower  is  changed  to  a  hand  cultivator, 
and  is  run  along  the  rows,  straddling  them  and  stirring  the 
soil  on  both  sides,  so  as  to  destroy  the  newly  germinating 
weeds.  This  work  is  repeated  frequently,  not  only  to  kill 
the  weeds,  but  for  the  purpose  of  helping  the  growth  of  the 
crop.  When  the  young  plants  are  well  up,  they  are  thinned 
out  with  a  narrow  "onion  hoe"  to  6  inches  apart;  some 
growers  leave  them  no  more  than  4  inches  from  each  other, 
and  when  the  soil  is  very  rich,  the  bulbs  may  crowd  upon 
each  other  in  the  rows.  A  crop  thus  grown  has  measured 
800  bushels  to  the  acre  and  has  sold  for  $1.25  per  bushel. 

The  rows  must  be  kept  clean  and  free  from  weeds.  This 
is  a  special  point  in  the  culture  of  this  crop.  AVhen  the 
bulbs  are  of  good  size,  some  of  the  plants  will  throw  up  thick 
hollow  seed  stems,  and  these  are  to  be  broken  down,  lest  the 
bulbs  stop  growing.  A  light  roller  or  a  bundle  of  brush 
is  drawn  over  the  rows  to  effect  this  purpose.  When  they 
are  ripe  the  bulbs  are  taken  up  with  a  digging  fork  or  hook, 
and  left  in  rows  upon  the  ground  to  dry  for  two  or  three 
days.  Thiey  are  then  stored  on  an  upper  floor  of  a  dry  loft, 
or  in  shallow  bins,  in  a  building  kept  for  the  purpose. 
Freezing  does  not  injure  them,  if  they  are  kept  frozen  by 
covering  them  with  straw  to  prevent  thawing  in  a  mild 
spell.  Warmth  will  cause  them  to  sprout  and  become  in- 
jured for  sale  or  use. 

The  worst  en<2my  of  the  onion  grower  is  the  maggot  which 
bores  in  the  bulb  when  it  is  small;  and  the  cutworm  whose 
bad  habits  are  well  known.  Prof  Eiley  the  first  entomolo- 
gist in  America,  advises  the  following  method  of  evading 
these  pests. 

"As  a  preventive  treat  the  land  early  in  spring  with  a 
mixture  of  lime  and  ashes,  preferably  wood  ashes.  This 
mixture  should  be  lightly  spread  over  the  land  after  plow- 
ing and  harrowed  in.  If,  after  the  seed  is  sown,  and  the 
plants  begin  to  come  up,  the  worms  appear  and  threaten 


THE   ONION   FLY.  325 

damage,  employ  the  poisoned  ball  system,  which,  in  brief, 
consist  in  placing  along  the  rows,  at  a  distance  of  15  or  20 
feet  apart,  small  bunches  of  fresh  cut  grass  or  other  green 
plant;  cabbage  leaves  answer  a  good  purpose.  These 
bunches  of  grass  or  green  plant  should  be  previously  sprink- 
led with  Paris  green  or  London  purple.  Should  the  worms 
still  appear  in  great  numbers  by  migration  from  surround- 
ing fields,  sprinkle  the  ground  at  night,  while  the  worms 
are  at  work,  with  a  diluted  emulsion  of  kerosene.  A  Goshen 
grower  has  used  pure  kerosene  for  killing  the  worms,  simply 
blackening,  not  killing,  the  onion  tips.  The  free  use  of 
pure  kerosene  may  injure  the  plants,  hence  an  emulsion  is 
recommended  as  safer  and  cheaper.  The  kerosene  is  emul- 
sified with  soap  or  milk  in  order  that  it  may  readily  dilute 
with  water.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that  by  some  spray- 
ing of  the  fields  at  night  with  this  mixture  the  worms  can 
be  destroyed  by  wholesale.  It  should  be  used  most  thor- 
oughly at  the  points  in  the  field  where  the  worms  are  first 
noticed  at  work,  and  from  which  they  spread  to  surround- 
ing points." 

Some  other  crops  which  are  found  profitable  under  va- 
rious local  circumstances,  are  Celery,  which  succeeds  to 
perfection  upon  reclaimed  muck  swamps  and  black  bottom 
soil;  Musk  and  AVater  Melons,  which  require  a  similar 
culture  to  that  of  cabbages;  Tomatoes,  which  are  grown 
in  the  same  manner"  as  potatoes,  but  require  the  whole  sea- 
son to  mature;  and  Cucumbers,  which  are  in  demand  for 
pickling.  All  these  crops  may  be  made  very  profitable  by 
good  culture,  and  will  come  conveniently  and  usefully  in  a 
rotation  as  a  fallow  and  manuring  crop;  benefiting  the  soil; 
destroying  weeds;  and  preparing  the  land  for  a  succeeding 
crop. 

It  is  not  alone  the  business  of  the  good  farmer  to  study 
his  art,  to  practice  every  known  device,  and  apply  every 
fact  he  may  learn  to  increase  the  produce  of  his  land,  and  yet 
leave  it  improved  in  condition,  or  at  the  least  no  worse  for 
the  enlarged  products;  but  it  is  also  his  business  to  choose 
such  crops  as  he  can  make  most  profitable;  watching  the 


826         THE  CULTURE  OF  FARM  CROPS. 

course  of  events;  acquainting  himself  with  the  requirements 
of  the  markets;  and  thus  making  his  land  the  means  of 
bringing  in  the  largest  money  return.  The  ordinary  rou- 
tine of  farming  is  often  too  closely  adhered  to  for  the  best 
results  to  the  farmer.  He  may  grow  vegetables  for  the  mar- 
kets near  by,  or  for  those  of  distant  cities;  he  may  grow 
fruits,  small  and  large;  grow  cucumbers  and  apples,  and  of 
the  latter  make  vinegar  to  pickle  the  former;  he  may  even 
manufacture  his  produce  into  finished  and  more  salable  ar- 
ticles; he  may  do  all  this,  and  yet  be  a  farmer;  and  the 
more  of  this  he  does  the  more  accomplished  and  successful 
farmer  he  will  be. 

But  the  more  he  knows  of  the  inner  secrets  of  his  art  and 
the  better  he  can  till  his  land,  the  better  he  can  turn  all  hi& 
work  to  profit  and  advantage.  His  crops  will  be  larger,  he 
will  choose  those  which  sell  the  most  readily  and  for  the 
most  money;  he  will  work  up  as  much  as  he  can,  using  his 
knowledge  and  skill  for  the  purpose  of  making  his  products 
more  profitable.  Every  producer,  of  whatever  kind  of  com- 
modities he  may  have  to  sell,  must  study  his  markets  and 
learn  everything  possible  of  the  disposition  of  his  wares. 
Otherwise  he  is  working  blindly  and  in  the  dark,  and  to 
great  disadvantage. 

So  the  farmer  must  not  confine  himself  altogether  to  his 
fields  and  his  barns  and  his  crops.  His  own  mind  and  in- 
telligence offer  a  broad  field  and  deep  rich  soil  for  culture 
of  the  most  productive  and  profitable  kind.  The  more  he 
knows,  the  more  he  can  do;  and  the  more  he  can  make  his 
work  and  practice  meet  the  necessities  of  the  world  which 
he  supplies.  How  many  farmers  know  what  the  new  pro- 
cess of  milling  wheat  is,  and  how  the  wheat  he  grows  is 
adapted  for  it?  There  is  10  cents  a  bushel  difference  between 
the  market  value  of  two  kinds  of  wheat  of  the  same  grade, 
simply  on  account  of  the  adaptability  of  the  one  kind  for 
this  new  process,  by  which  a  large  quantity  of  more  nutri- 
tious flour  is  procured  from  the  better  variety  of  wheat. 
There  is  money  in  this  knowledge. 

Again,  if  the  market  values  of  wheats  are  studied,  it  will 


SELF  CULTURE  OF  THE  FARMER. 


327 


be  ftKind  that  there  is  a  wider  difference  still  between  the 
qualities  of  the  grain,  which  vary  at  least  25  per  cent,  in 
the  market  values.  This  must  bring  loss  to  many  farmers, 
and  the  loss  is  more  than  doubled  by  the  less  quantity  pro- 
duced of  the  poorer  grain.  Instances  might  be  multiplied 
without  end  in  which  farmers  have  neglected  to  cultivate 
themselves,  while  they  have  necessarily  failed  to  cultivate 
,  their  soil  as  profitably  as  they  might  have  done. 
1  When  this  fact  is  realized — and  it  is  the  hope  of  the  author 
that  the  perusal  of  the  pages  of  this  little  work  may 
lead  to  this  knowledge — the  earnest  farmer  desiring  to  suc- 
ceed in  his  work  to  the  utmost,  will  spare  no  efforts  to  gain 
all  the  information  and  knowledge  he  can  that  relates  to  the 
practice  of  his  vocation,  so  that  he  may  become  acquainted 
fully  with  all  the  principles  which  underlie  The  Culture  of 
Farm  Crops  as  well  as  of  the  best  means  of  disposing  of  hia 
produce. 

THE  END. 


HUPPENDIX.K 


TABLE  I. 

QUANTITY   OF   SEED   PER   ACRE   OF 

Wheat  in  drills 1  busheL 

Wheat  broadcast 13^    " 

€orii  in  hills  or  drills.. 3^    " 

Corn  for  fodder 1        " 

Hye 1}4    " 

Oats 2}i    " 

Barley 2       " 

Peas 13^    " 

Beans 1^    " 

Potatoes 5  to  10      " 

Millet %    " 

Flax >/  to  1       " 

Buckwheat %    " 

Broom  corn 4  quarts. 

Sorghum  sugar  cane 6      " 

Alfalfa 20  pounds. 

Clover... 10  to  15      " 

*Timothy  grass 6  to  10      " 

*Orchard  grass 20  to  30      " 

*Red  top 20     " 

♦Kentucky  blue  grass 20      " 

♦Meadow  fescue 24      " 

♦Italian  rye  grass 24      " 

♦Perennial  rye  grass 20     " 

♦Meadow  foxtail 20      " 

Mangels  and  Beets 4  to  6      " 

Rutabaga 2  to  4     " 

Turnips 1  to  2      " 

Carrots 5  to  8      " 

Melons  and  cuciunbers 1      " 

Onions  for  bulbs 6  to  12      " 

Onions  for  sets 30      " 

Onions  sets 10  bushels. 

*In  mixture  30  pounds  per  acre  in  the  aggregate  divided  equally. 


APPENDIX. 


329 


TABLE  II. 

NUMBER   OF   HILLS   PER   ACRE   AT 

23^  feet  apart 6.970 

3     feet  by  1  foot ..^.14.520 

3     feet  by  2  feet 1  7.260 

3  feet  by  3  feet 4.840 

4  feet  by  3  feet 3.630 

4  feet  by  4  feet 2.722 

5  feet  by  5  feet 1.742 

6  feet  by  6  feet 1.210 

7  feet  by  7  feet 1.000 

12  feet  by  12  feet 302 

15  feet  by  15  feet 194 

20  feet  by  20  feet 109 

30  feet  by  30  feet 48 

TABLE  III. 


WEIGHTS   OF   A   BUSHEL   OF 

Wheat 60  pounds. 

Corn 56 

Corn  meal 48  to  50 

Barley 48 

Buckwheat 48 

Oats 32 

Rye 56 


Onions... 
Potatoes. 
Lime 


52 

60 

80 

Clover  seed 60 

Timothy 45 

Orchard  grass 13 

TABLE  IV. 


A  barrel  of  apples  or  potatoes 180  pounds. 

Abarrclofflour 196 

A  barrel,  liquid  measure 40  gallons. 

A  bushel  contains. 2150.4  cubic  inches. 

(and  is  a  cylinder  183^  inches  diameter  and  8  inches  deep.) 

A  U.  S.  standard  gallon  contains 231  cubic  inches. 

A  box  17%xl5xS  inches  holds 1  bushel. 

A  box  143^x10x73^  inches  holds "%,      " 

A  box  183^x15x10  inches  holds a  heaped  busheL 


HINDEX.K 


Air,  circulation  of  in  leaves 249 

Alfalfa,  cultivation  of. 290 

Ammonia 31-70 

absorbed  by  porous 

substances 70 

dissolved  by  water 70 

composition  of. 71 

how  detected 72 

its  combinations 72 

absorption  of  by  gj'psum  74 
formation  of  in  the  soil.,  75 
its  action  upon  plant 

growth 76 

sulphate  of. 229 

Animal  manures 196 

Anther,  the 254 

Ash  of  plants,  composition  of... 99-102 

Ashes,  wood 219 

Ashes,  wood,  as  manure 214 

Atmosphere,  diffusion  of  oxygen  in  23 

weight  of. 24-41 

"  of  the 40 

"  motionsof. 42 

"  waves  of 42 

Atomic,  weights 83 


Barley,  cultivation  of. 299 

Beans,  cultivation  of. 303 

Blood  and  flesh,  dried 231 

Bones,  as  a  fertilizer 231 

"     composition  of. 114 

Buckwheat,  cultivation  of. 301 


Cabbages,  cultivation  of 320 

Carbon,  its  properties 17 

"       how  it  enters  into  plants..  78 

Carbonic  acid,  in  the  air 62 

"  combines  with 

alkalies 63 


Carbonic  acid,  sources  of. 64 

"  its  properties 60 

"  is  produced  by 

combustion 61 

"  contain' din  marble  61 

"  as  food  for  plants ...  61 

Calcium,  its  compounds 112 

"       chloride  of 113 

Castor  oil  pomace 232 

Cells  of  plants 237 

"    contents  of. 237 

"    how  they  increase 23& 

"    centers  of  plant  life 239 

Cellular  fiber,  composition  of. 237 

Charcoal,  its  properties 18 

"         its  effect  on  vegetation  18 
Chemical  combination,  laws  of....  38 

Chlorine 117 

Chlorophyll,  of  plants 249 

Clay  soils,  improvement  of. 165 

Clover,  roots  of 20 

"       cultivation  of. 288 

' '      hay ,  composition  of. 289 

Cold,  lowest  degree  of. 58 

"     mixtures  for  producing 58 

Composition  of  farm  crops 147-148 

Composts 209 

"       materials  for 194-210 

"       composition  of 210 

Com,  cultivation  of. 296 

"      improvement  of. 297 

"      for  fodder 290 

Cotton,  cultivation  of. 308 

Cotton  seed,  its  use  as  manure 232 

' '  composition  of 309 

Cow  peas,  cultivation  of. 302 

Crops,  analysis  of,  not  a  safe  guide.  153 

"      large,  how  grown 164 

"      rotation  of. ; 278 

"      for  soiling 287 

"      cultivating 188 


INDEX. 


331 


D 

Dew 51 

Decomposition  of  matter 15 

Ditches,  size  of 169 

Drains,  materials  for 170 

"       how  made 171 

Draining  land 167 

Diastaste,  effect  upon  starch 236 

E 

Earth,  the,  formation  of. 120 

"       the  early  history  of 121 

Electricity,  produces  nitric  ac- 
id in  the  air 68 

Elements,  inorganic 93 

"  organic 16 

Elementary  bodies 14 

Embryo  of  plants,  formation  of 255 

Evaporation,  absorption  of  heat  by  57 
' '       of  water  from  soils..  134-138 
"       of  water  from  plants. ..248 
Exhaustion  of  soils,  how  pro- 
duced  272 

F 

Fallowing,  summer,  effects  of 188 

Farm  Crops,  culture  of 271 

Feeding  substances,  composit'n  of.105 

Feldspar,  composition  of 125 

Fertilizing  matter  in  green  man- 
ures  206 

Fertility,  amount  of  m  the  soil 273 

"         how  exhausted 275 

Filament  of  the  flower 254 

Fish  scrap,  as  manure 230 

Flax,  cultivation  of 310 

Flowers,  the  production  of. 253 

"       parts  of. 253 

Forms  of  matter 12 

Fodder  crops 286 

Freezing  mixtures '. 58 

"    in  cellars,  how  prevented..  58 

Fructification,  the  process  of. 255 

Fruit,  the,  its  formation  and 
character 258 

G 

Germ,  the,  of  the  seed 256 

Germination  of  seeds 236 

"        changes  produced  by.. 258 

Grass,  importance  of 159 

"     growth  of  under  irrigation..l59 

"     cultivation  of. 282 

Grasses,  mixed  for  different  soiLs...284 

Green  manuring 203 

"  results  of 204 


Green  manuring,  plants  for ;.205 

Green  crops,  for  manure,  compo- 
sition of 206 

Green  crops,  for  manure,  how 

used 207 

Grain  crops,  cultivation  of 293 

Granite,  composition  of 124 

"       soils  formed  from 124 

Guano,  as  a  fertilizer 222 

Gum,  composition  of 237 

Gypsum 217 

"       composition  of. 113 

H 

Harrow,  Acme  pulverizing 186 

Harrows,  kinds  in  use 185 

Harrowing,  effects  upon  the  soil. ..184 

losses  by  defective 185 

'*  necessity  for  perfect. ..276 

Heat,  influence  upon  vegetation...  52 

"      what  it  is 53 

"      force  of. 53-55 

"      absorbed  by  water 54 

Hemp,  cultivation  of. 311 

Hops,  cultivation  of. 317 

"      composition  of. 318 

Hornblende,  composition  of. 126 

Hinnus 19 

Hybridizing  plants 266 

Hydrogen,  its  properties 28 

weight  of. 28 

"  its  compotmds 29 


Improvement  of  plants  by  cross'g...264 
Inorganic  elements,  comp'dsof....l07 

Irrigation,  value  of 158 

"  of  crops 173 

"  methods  of 174 

"  work  on 176 

K 
Kainite 220 

I- 

Laws  of  plant  growth 97-196 

Leaves,  functions  of. 249 

"       pores  of 250 

"       absorb  carbonic  acid 2fl 

Leather  scraps,  as  manure 232 

Lime,  how  made 112 

''      a  constituent  of  plants 112 

"      its  compounds 113 

"      efffects  of  in  soils 166 

"      in  composts 211 

"      as  a  manure 214 


332 


INDEX. 


Limestone 127 

"         decomposition  of 13 

"         ground 217 

Lucern,  cultivation  of 200 

M 

Magnesium,  compounds  of. 114 

Mangels,  effects  of  salt  upon 137 

Manufactured  manures 224 

Manure,  hen,  composition  of 202 

Manures,  ammoniacal  effects  of..76-£0 
"        decomposition  of  in 

the  soil 144 

effects  of.. 155 

"         mechanical  effects  of 192 

"         how  mixed  with  soil 193 

"        animal 196 

**         liquid,  value  of. 199 

"        farm,  composition  of 200 

"        green,  composition  of.. ..206 

"        loss  of  by  exposure 201 

"        vegetable 203 

"        mineral 213 

complete 228 

Marl 216 

Matter,  two  forms  only 12 

"       organic  and  inorganic 12 

Meadows,  irrigated 175 

"         permanent 282 

Mica,  composition  of. 125 

Mineral  manures,  value  of 223 

Mixture  of  grasses 283 

Muriate  of  potash 220 

N 

Night  soil,  value  of,  for  manure... 200 
Niter  beds,  for  making  nitric  acid  67 

Nitrate  of  lime 113 

Nitric  acid 31-65 

"       combination  of. 91 

"       consumption  of  by 

crops 66-68 

"       in  the  atmosphere 66 

Nitrogen,  its  properties 29 

' '         absorbed  by  water 30 

"         its  combinations 30 

"         relation  of  to  plant 

growth 84 

"        developed  in  soils 85 

"        inacropofhay 85 

"        procured  from  the  at- 
mosphere   85 

"        dissolved  by  water 86 

"        in  coal 87 

"        in  fertilizers 89 

"         how  it  enters  into  plants  92 


Nitrogen,  in  clover 68 

"         in  urine 199 

Nutriment  stored  in  plants 261 


Oats,  cultivation  of 298 

Onions,  cultivation  of. 322 

Orchard  grass 283 

Organic  elements 16 

Organic  matter,  properties  of 33 

"             combination  of...  33 
Organic  elements,  as  plant  food...  36 
"                  how  they  en- 
ter plants 37 

Oxalic  acid 110 

Oxidation 23 

Oxygen,  its  properties 21 

discovery  of. 21 

soluble  in  water 22 

consumed  in  burning 
coal 


24 
consumed  in  respiration.  24 
indispensable  to  plant 

growth 163 

"       absorbed  by  porous  soils..l.i8 
Ozone 26 


Peas,  cultivation  of 302 

Phosphorus 115 

Phosphoric  acid 114-116 

Phosphate  oflime 114-219 

Pistil,  the,  and  its  parts 255 

Plants,  how  composed :35 

"       inorganic  elements  of. 93 

"       substance  of,    derived 

from  the  air 93 

ash  of. 94 

"      mineral  food  of. 95 

growth,  law  of. 97-196 

"       composition  of. 102-105 

"       first  growth  of. 122 

"       vary  with  the  soil 151 

"       structure  and  growth  of.. ..234 

"       how  they  grow 235 

nutrition  of. 239 

reproductive  organs  of 253 

"       improvement  of. 267 

Plant  food,  in  an  acre  of  soil 145 

"  removed  from  the 

soil  by  crops 147-149 

Plant  growth,  laws  of 152 

Plaster,  its  composition  and  uses....ll3 

Plow,  construction  of 161 

"      sub.soil,  use  of. 162 

Plowing,  effects  of. 160 


INDEX. 


333 


Plowing,  how  done 275 

purpose  and  results  of 178 

"        how  performed.... 179 

hillsides 182 

"       in  manure 195 

Pollen  of  plants 255 

Potatoes,  cultivation  of. S06 

"       sweet,  cultivation  ot 307 

Potash 108 

"      as  plant  food 108 

"      sulphate  of. 109 

"     muriate  of 109 

"      nitrate  of. 110 

"      oxalate  of 110 

"      tartrates  of Ill 

"      citrates  of. Ill 

"      German  salts  of 112 

"      salts 220 

Potassium,  its  compounds 107 

chloride 109 

Practice  of  soiling 287 

R 

Ripening,  changes  produced  by  ...258 

Rocks,  composition  of. 123 

"      character  of. 123 

"     effect  of,  upon  the  soil 125 

"     a  guide  to  the  character 

of  soils 129 

Roots,  functions  of 82-241 

"      penetration  of. 163 

"      power  of  selecting  food 242 

"     rejection  of  useless  mat- 
ter by 244 

"      store  nutriment 245 

Root  crops,  cultivation  of 304 

Roots  and  stubble,  value  of. 207 

Rotation  of  crops 106 

Rotation,  longer  advisable 281 

Rye,  for  fodder 290 

"    cultivation  of. 300 

S 

Salt,  composition  of. 111-221 

"    asa  fertilizer Ill 

"    fertilizer  for  mangels 137 

Sandstones 128 

Sandy  soils,  improvement  of 166 

Sap,  circulation  of  in  plants 247 

Seed,  selection  of. 268 

Seeds  of  plants,  how  fonned 259 

"     always  reproduce  them- 
selves  262 

Shell  lime 217 

Silica,  as  a  constituent  of  plants. ..116 
Silicon 116 


Silo,  construction  of. 287 

Snow,  its  forms  and  character 46 

Soda Ill 

"    nitrate  of,  eflfects  of  on  wheat  91 

Sodium,  its  compounds Ill 

"         chloride  t>f. Ill 

"         sulphate  of 112 

Soil,  accumulation  of  carbon  in...  19 

"    virgin,  formation  of 119 

"    functions  of  the 142 

"    exhavistion  of 143-149 

"    the  manufactory  of  plant 

food 144 

"    barren,  composition  of , 146 

"    a  storehouse  of  plant  food 153 

"    improvement  of  by  chemi- 
cal means 196 

"    natural  fertility  of 150 

Soils,  physical  properties  of 130 

"     sandy,  free  from  frost 131 

"     loess,  of  Nebraska 131 

"     limestone 131 

"     difficult  to  plow 132 

"     absorption  of  moisture  by  ...133 

"     peaty,  value  of. 133 

"     alluvial 128 

"     fertile,  composition  of.. ..127-145 

"     variations  in 128 

"     improvement  of,  by  mechan- 
ical methods 155 

"     drainage,  effect  of 155 

"     effects  of  variations  of,  in 

plants 152 

"     dark,  absorb  heat 140' 

"     thorough  pulverization  of, 

necessary 137-154 

"     effects  of  cultivation  of 136 

Soiling  crops 286 

Solar  rays,  influence  of 25 

Soot  from  soft  coal 232 

Special  manures 228 

Species,  the  persistence  of 257-262 

Sporting  of  plants 269 

Springs,  nature  and  action  of. 168 

Stamens  of  plants 254 

Starch 237 

"     composition  of 62 

"     converted  into  sugar 236 

Stems,  functions  of 247 

Subsoil  plowing 162 

Sugar,  needed  for  germination 237 

"      composition  of. 237 

Sulphate  of  lime 113-220 

Sulphur,  its  combinations 11& 

Sunlight,  effects  of  on  plant 
ffrowth 25a 


334 


INDEX. 


Superphosphate  of  lime 114-224 

"  "    composi- 

tion of  differ- 
ent brands  of.. .226 
"  "    how  to 

make 227 

"                     "  how  to  use..227 
Swamp  muck,  the  value  of. 116 

T 

Tillage,  implements  of. 274 

"         importance  of. 183-275 

Tobacco,  composition  of. 312 

"         cultivation  of. 312 

Trees,  various,  ash  of. 279 

Turnips,  cultivation  of. 307 

U 

Urea,  composition  of. 90 

Urine,  composition  of. 198 

V 

Vegetable  life,  its  beginning 25 

"Vegetable  matter  decomposition  of  15 


W 

Water  contained  in  crops 35 

its  composition 45 

weight  of 45 

freezing  of 45 

as  food  for  plants 47 

absorption  of  gases  by 48 

impurities  in 48 

solvent  powers  of...... 48 

formed  by  combustion  of 

hydrogen 49 

decomposition  of  in  plants.  50 

vapor  of 50 

latent  heat  of 54 

absorbed  by  soils 134 

diffusion  of  through  soils... .134 

excess  of,  injurious 156 

required  for  irrigation 177 

Weeds,  destroyed  by  summer 
fallowing 191 

Wheat,  variations  of.... 151 

"       culture  of. 293 

Woody  fiber,  composition  of. 237 

Wool  waste 232 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


^^  A  C  M  E  " 
Pulverizing  Harrow, 


Clod  Crusher  and  Leveler. 


Variety    of  Sizes    IVorkin^    from    tliree    to 

fifteen    feet  wide. 

Prices    Ran^e    from    $16.00    to    $59.00 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


"ACME"  Pulverizing  Harrow, 

CLOD  CRUSHER  &  LEVELER. 

The  "ACME"  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  thorough 
practical  tests  in  all  sections  of  the  country;  the  testimo- 
nials published  in  my  illustrated  pamphlet  furnish  abundant 
'proof  of  its  wide-spread  popularity  and  establish  beyond 
doubt  the  claim  that  it  is  adapted  to  a  great  variety  of  soils 
and  is  indeed  the  best  implement  of  its  class  yet  produced. 
In  fact,  it  is  the  only  Pulverizer  combining  a 
CLOD  CRUSHER,  LEVELER  &  HARROW, 
performing  the  three  operations  at  one  time,  and  is  believed 
to  be  the  only  one  yet  offered  that  will  do  its  work  thor- 
oughly in  all  kinds  of  ground,  leaving  the  soil  in  a  light, 
loose  condition,  just  as  the  farmer  desires  to  have  it. 

While  it  is  invaluable  for  all  purposes  where  a  harrow  is 
needed  it  is 

Peculiarly  adapted  to  hard  clay  and 
inverted  sod, 
aiid  to  ground  whi<;h  has  become  packed  and  baked  after 
plowing,  as  well  as  to  leveling  uneven  land. 


A  prominent  agricultural  writer,  who  is  a  practical  far- 
mer, after  demonstrating  clearly  that  an  increase  of 
five  bushels  of  winter  grain  may  be  obtained  with  one 
dollar's  worth  of  extra  pulverization  of  the  soil  (a  net 
increase  in  money  value  of  four  dollars  per  acre 
above  cost),  says :  "The  great  benefit  conferred  on  farmers 
"by  a  general  introduction  of  the  "ACME"  Pulverizing 
"Harrow,  Clod  Crusher  and  Leveler  becomes  obvious.  If 
"the  five  hundred  million  bushels  of  grain  raised  annually 
"in  the  United  States,  on  forty  million  acres  of  land  could 
"be  easily  increased  but  three  bushels  per  acre  above  cost, 
"it  would  add  more  than  a  hundred  million  bushels  of 
"wheat  to  the  product  of  the  Union  above  actual  expense. 
"By  assisting  in  the  wider  introduction  of  this  efficient  im- 
"plement,  enterprising  farmers  and  citizens  would  promote 
"the  substantial  interests  of  the  whole  country." 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Beware  of  Imitations 


TRADE 


MARK. 


All  &ENUINE  "ACME''  Harrows  M  FlciiWe  &aui  Bars, 


Figure  1, 


Fig.  1  shows  front  coul- 
ters passing  an  obstruc- 
tion such  as  stone,  knoll, 
corn  stubble,  or  other 
rulibish — the  rear  coul- 
ters remain  at  work  in 
the  soil. 


'i'his  flexiljility  admits  of  one  bur  dropping  into  furrow,  while  the 
other  Ijar  is  working  on  a  higher  level,  and  it  enables  the  driver 
with  the  aid  of  the  tilting  lever,  to  clear  the*  Harrow  of  rubbish 
which  may  accumulate  under  the  coulters. 

In  other  harrows  where  the  gang  bars  are  fastened  rigidly  togeth- 
er, neither  bar  will  remain  on  the  ground  when  the  other  bar  is 
passing  an  obstruction,  nor  will  either  bar  drop  into  a  dead  furrow 
or  other  hollow  when  the  other  bar  is  on  a  higher  level.  Neither 
can  rigid  l)ar  harrows  be  cleared  of  rubbish  without  the  driver  leavei? 
his  seat  and  lifts  the  harrow. 


IVew  Style  "ACME"  Harrows,  ]¥os.  lO,  11  aiitl  12 
liave  Reversible  Coulters,  viz: 

When  worn  out  on  one  end  they  may  be  turned  "end  for  end" 
and  ill  fact  are  equal  in  point  of  durability  to  two  sets  of  Coulters. 

Adjustable  Coulters,  viz: 

The  Coulters  on  this  style  may  be  adjusted  to  cut  over  more  or 
less  of  the  surface.  In  summer  fallow  the  Coulters  may  be  adjusted 
to  "overlap"  so  as  to  practically  clean  the  ground  of  weeds,  if  they 
have  not  been  allowed  to  grow  up  rank.  Again  on  ground  where 
there  is  loose  rubbish,  the  coulters  may  be  set  with  less  flare,  and 
when  thus  set  the  Harrow  draws  easier. 


ADVKRTTSEMEXT. 


Two~Wlieel  Sulky  Attactaent 


-FOR    THE- 


"ACME"  Pulverizing  Harrow, 

Clod  Crusher  and  Leveler. 

Can  be  attached  to  or  detached  from  the  Harrow  in  ten  minutes. 
It  is  arranged  so  as  to  regulate  the  depth  of  work  completely,  and 
can  be  used  in  transporting  the  Harrow  on  the  road. 

The  Sulky  is  very  valuable  in  covering  grain,  and  especially  so 
where  there  is  rubbish,  such  as  corn  stubble,  as  by  means  of  the 
Lever,  the  Harrow  may  be  instantly  raised  from  the  ground  so  that 
the  rubbish  will  readily  pass  out  from  under  the  Coulters. 

Where  the  ground  is  hard,  so  as  to  require  extra  weight  on  the 
Harrow  to  force  it  into  the  soil,  the  entire  weight  of  the  Sulky  may 
be  put  on  the  Harrow  l)y  simply  pushing  the  Lever  forward,  thus 
adding  about  80  pounds  to  the  weight. 


*'Froin  His  Own  Experience  in  PreparingrGronncl 
**Foi'  Winter  Grain,  by  the  use  of  the  ''ACME"  Pulverizing 
"Harrow,  the  writer  is  quite  free  to  say  that  had  this  implement 
"been  used  instead  of  the  common  harrow,  the  loss  of  wheat  by  the 
"hard  winter  would  have  been  trivial,  and  that  many  a  single  acre" 
"which  has  not  returned  the  seed  sown  upon  it,  might  easily  have 
"made  enough  grain  to  have  paid  the  whole  cost  of  this  imple- 
"ment." 


ADVERTISE3IENT. 


ON  TRI 

DO  3JOT  BE  DECEIVED.     Don  t 

base  imitation  or  some  inferior  tool  under  th 
better,  SATISFY  YOURSELF  BY  ORDE 
ON  TRIAL. 

I  will  send  a  DOUBLE  GANG  ''ACME"  to  any  responsible 
farmer  in  the  United  States;  if  it  does  not  suit,  he  may  send  it  back 
r  paving  return  freight.  I  don't  ask  pay  until  tried  on  his  own 
farm^T'^^  ^"^ 


Pr 


^Z{i^^i2 


c 

I 

"4 


agaii 

the  n 

auth( 

PALio    iw   nr.ri..A\  r^^fVfvUiV Jj.l\   tJ^ti I >S ;    tJie   .miv 

stipulation  being  tiiat  the  farmer  demanding  such   jjarts 

shall  sign  a  statement  that  the  breakage  occurred  in  fair 

usasre. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


Goods  are  delivered  free  on  board  at— New  York — Columbus, 
0.— Chica(;(),  III.— Kansas  City,  Mo.— Mixxeapolis,  Mixx.— 
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Bimme  M,  Nrnkg^ 


